Toys For Tots at the Hyatt Regency Hotel

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1/4/2007 10:32:46 PM

Now you know why I tell people that I'm a "virtual plastic surgeon!"

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12/20/2006 2:34:33 AM

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DSCN0698--1--from RAW--unbrightened

12/17/2006 4:16:41 PM

"The Cigar Maker" is the title that I've given to this series of images--especially to the third picture of the series. I love this guy! This very typical older Cuban cigar maker makes for a great classic portrait photograph. What I've done is, I captured the original image in a special format on my camera referred to as "RAW" (without the use of any flash) which is a setting that captures EVERY detail possible, in its natural state, and allows the digital photo editor the ability to manipulate that image much more than he/she would normally be able to without degrading the resolution of the originally captured image. Here you will see that original RAW image, with very little done to it except perhaps boosting the contrast a little bit--no sharpening, cropping or color correction was done here. Now, go take a look and click over to the next image.....

DSCN0698--2--brightened +2 stops in RAW

12/17/2006 4:15:19 PM

This is the same image brightened the maximum amount possible (+2 stops) while still keeping the image in RAW format. There is little loss of resolution, however, brightening such a dark image to such a large degree--even in RAW mode--still results in some loss of the highlighted areas (known as "blowout"). If I had attempted to brighten such a dark image in the usual format that most digital cameras process an image into (JPEG) there would have been a MUCH greater loss of the cigar maker's features in the darker areas than what you see here. Now, if you click ahead to the third and FINAL image.........

Dscn0698--3--the best of both images com

12/17/2006 4:13:58 PM

Here I've used my photo editing skills in Photoshop to combine the best of both images into one image, taking the darker areas from the first image and adding them to the blown-out highlighted areas of the second one. This is actually harder than you might think: what is required is to create a duplicate layer of the lighter image and paste it over the original darker one, then, to skillfully erase the blown-out areas of the top layer, revealing the darker layer underneath, just where there was loss of detail in the top layer, them merging the two layers into one layer. Try clicking back two images and then forward again several times, while keeping your eye on the cigar maker rather than looking at the little arrows above the images. After a few times going back and forth, you will see how I added the darker areas to the parts of the brightened image that had become blown-out by the brightening process, resulting in a really neat overall image. Of course, some of you may actually prefer the dark one or the totally brightened one over the final composite. Actually, in a way I like the first, darker one as the shadows in it give the Cuban cigar maker an aura of mystery. However, after I played with the brightened one using special "filters" in Photoshop, I came up with an interesting "digital painting." (SEE NEXT IMAGE)

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DSCN0724--Yo soy muy macho!

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