Sydney April 2013 (2 photos)
I was trying to daydream, but my mind kept wandering.
…Steven Wright (comedian, actor, writer)
Just out one afternoon enjoying the sun, and playing around with some very selective focus. Why does the wind blow whenever I shoot nature? I like the wistful daydream quality of this photo. Kind of appropriate for a lazy day on the beach.
Recently, I received the Topaz Labs suite of software for winning The Digital Lightroom competition. This photo marks the first that I have entirely processed using Topaz software plug-ins on Lightroom. Their newest product is Topaz Impressions, and I found this photo particularly suited to that application. Here, I’ve used the Cezanne impressionist painting preset.
Oh, I could hide ‘neath the wings
of the bluebird as she sings…
Very Cool 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
Wow, it’s wonderful! What a lovely post Draco! 🙂
It’s a very pleasant place to spend a few hours, Elina. Very scenic.
I like the selective DOF on this one – the colors make this selection work. I’ll be interested in how you like the Topaz suite. I too have found that Nature + Macro = strong wind blowing
Thank you. I need to establish a workflow in Topaz. Colour management is a lot easier and more customisable than with Nik.
Interesting – I’ll have to check it out.
I use LR and not PS. I’m hearing good things about Capture One.
And that song is now stuck in my head. Great shot!
The six o’clock alarm would never ring.
But it rings and I rise,
Wipe the sleep out of my eyes…
Good morning. Thank you. 🙂
Looks dreamy..oh my, now you become a painter! Cool imaging processing plugin!
I’m a jack-of-all-trades. 🙂 Thanks Indah.
I really like your impressionist painting! Excellent! Dragon!
Many thanks Amy. Have a great day ahead.
Wonderful images, Lignum, especially the last one.
Thank you Lisa. The software certainly increases my processing options.
How lovely. It’s hard to leave this page! 😉 Helen
Thank you Helen. 🙂
Congratulations! I am impressed by Impressions, but always more impressed by your images! Cheers!
Many thanks. I’m “drawn” to the sea. 🙂
Very nice…. drawn to the see…. yes…. waves of laughter…. 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
I once thought of you as a white knight on a steed …
But very similar fx can be extracted from using my Corel Photo Paint 10 !!!!!!!!!!
[grin]
Perhaps that explains why most of the cars I’ve owned have been white, and my current steed is nicknamed Shadowfax. 🙂
Good to hear from you again.
? – you ALWAYS hear from me, LD. Have I not been seen to comment of late …?
I like the Cezanne, but the first image makes me boss-eyed 😉
Thank you. I was really going for the daydream look in that one. 🙂
Interesting effects.
It certainly increases the processing options.
A beautiful, dreamy photo and a gorgeous painting…a man of many talents!
You haven’t seen me with a real paintbrush- disaster city. LOL. 🙂
Brilliant use of Cezanne. Now you can call yourself a painter. A digital painter. If you didn’t mention it, I would have thought you painted it. There’s another career path for you 🙂 A very chilled painting. A bit summer-dreamy too 🙂
Thank you. It’s a nice change of pace from my usual candid shots. I’ll stick to photography though. 🙂
Lovely and loving the effects 😀
Thank you. 🙂
😀 Cezanne is a good one to imitate. 🙂 This is a major deviation in your usual work 😀
Thanks Paula. It helps to break out of the comfort zone every now and then.
Great shots… I loved the blurred version Lignum.
Best wishes and happy weekend ahead to you, Aquileana 😛
Many thanks Aquileana. 🙂
wow, fabulous job you did there turning the OOF image into a Cezanne masterpiece with the Topaz software. have a good weekend, woody dragon.
Thanks kap. So many options in post processing software today. Too many to explore.
Ah, another daydream believer! 🙂 Beautiful! I do prefer the Cezanne process, though!
Thank you very much. Us believers are everywhere. 🙂
Colour! I like your picture, particularly because of where you chose to focus … and the Cezanne setting, although I’m not always into playing with apps like those, but I can see that it could idle a few hours with interesting results.
Thank you. It’s a fun software for playing with, and converting photos that may otherwise be lacking.
I woudn’t miss your photos in color for the world 😀
love it… very painterly even without the Topaz effect…
Thank you. Just a bit of experimentation, both in technique and software. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 🙂
The Cezanne version is quite nice. It’s always fun to see you stray from your usual style.
That filter would be my favorite new toy. 🙂
Thank you. There’s too many options. 🙂
I love bleary photos, they have a bit of mystery 🙂 Wish you a wonderful weekend my friend.
Thank you very much. Enjoy the rest of your weekend too. 🙂
Thank you 🙂
The Monkeys!!
Great song (and if someone did it before the Monkeys, my apologies for not knowing that). I know nothing about Topaz, other than seeing the name around WordPress. What I do know is that the Cezanne impressionist effect is beautiful!
From Wikipedia:
John Stewart of the Kingston Trio wrote the song. It was initially declined by a couple of groups. Producer Chip Douglas was friends with John Stewart and ran into him at a party in Hollywood. Douglas told Stewart that he was now producing the Monkees and asked if he had any songs that might work for the group. Stewart offered “Daydream Believer” and the rest is history.
Both offer such warmth with a gorgeous sleepy feeling . . .!
Thank you Patti.
That beach picture has a beautiful daydreaming quality to it, and the art effects are really amazing, looks very realistic! Could be quite useful for showing how to paint your own photographs too. 🙂
Thank you Suzy. There are options to convert photos into drawings, watercolours, charcoal drawings, …you name it. So many options to explore. 🙂
I love the blur effect. I’ve got a couple of Topaz products, but haven’t tried Impressions yet. They’ve got presets named after artists?
Thanks. There’s a lot of effects there. Under the impressionists heading, they have styles by Cezanne, Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh. Also pointillism and impasto styles.
Genius at work. What more can I say? You seem to love blue or is it better to say you seem to love water???
Blue and water are in abundance on the harbour. They are happy elements for many people. 🙂