At yesterday's St Pat's Day Parade Dialup warning

[alfredo]

[Callalily]

1. You are truly a master of the

black and white, and I totally admire your street shots. Do you ask for permission when you shoot people or do you just shoot and hope for the best. And . . . I personally would be shy about posting photos of people. Just me . . . nothing more . . . nothing less.

The car is awesome. Can't wait for the "old car" show to come again to my area. I know I'll be shooting like crazy.

[alfredo]

2. Thanks. I do ask permission when shooting children.

When shooting adults, I lead with a compliment, then motion to my camera, or just ask. I complimented the old man on his hat and asked if I can photograph it.

I was really shy there for a couple decades, but last summer I forced myself to do it. I find that public events like parades, art fairs, executions, and street fairs are better for street photography. People don't seem to have expectations for privacy at such events. I also keep to public lands where I know I am on solid legal grounds.


I used various plugins that emulate black and white films. Sometimes I used a Provia plug in before I convert to B&W to make sure the image has punch. If I have to use an HDR plugin, I follow up with Auto White Balance, Wavelet Sharpen, and curves. The Green Shamrock was done in G'MIC. I added a duplicate layer, converted the background to B&W. On the top layer I selected a green as close to the shamrock as I could find, desaturated the rest, then erased all other green left over on the top layer. I then merged the layers and touched up the image. I'm still not completely happy with that image, but that's OK.

All work was done in GIMP plus some neat plugins supplied by other GIMP users.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

3. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

I have Photoshop but barely know how to use it. However your description of how you altered the pic with the shamrock explains the layer concept in a way I hadn't thought of before. I'm going to see if it works.
Thanks!

:bounce:

[alfredo]

4. Thanks. Photoshop has a steep learning curve, so I'd suggest

not just reading tutorials, you need play time too.

I had Photoshop, but lost it, so now GIMP is my only editor.

Masks were the tough ones for me. I still don't use them.

[BuddhaGirl]

7. great shots!!!!

is GIMP easy to work with? is it a stand-alone program?

[alfredo]

8. Thanks. GIMP, is easy for me because I've used it for years.

It started out in the open source Linux/UNIX world, and now is ported to Windows and OSX. Like Photoshop, it has a steep learning curve.


It is a stand alone program. It also has a bunch of plugins. It is free, though I don't think the project would turn down any contributions.

GIMP:
http://www.gimp.org/

For OSX. Menu items are in the window, not on the menu bar. You also need X11. It should be in your utilities folder. If not, it is in the Optional installs on your install disc. I have made it as the default editor in iPhoto.
http://gimp.lisanet.de/Website/News/News.html

It is not Photoshop or Lightroom, but it is pretty good. I rarely print my work, so I don't need the pro tools of Photoshop.

[JohnnyRingo]

16. The shamrock really stood out to me

Nice touch

[Saphire]

5. Alfredo, each one is better than the one before. I am fond of the second,

he looks like an old Irish sea captain, but that was until I saw the third. The look on the kids face is priceless.

[alfredo]

6. That third one made me laugh when I reviewed it.

I told the kids to say "apple sauce." I caught her on the "sauce."

[Mira]

9. Masterful, Alfredo. A treat - every one of them.

All the children's photos are such slices of life - I especially like number one, but i can't call it a favorite.

[alfredo]

10. She's all business. That and how she is leaning is what

attracted me to the image.

[Solly Mack]

11. I love these!

Truly excellent.

Love the touch of green!

[alfredo]

12. Thanks. Stephen Spielberg intro'ed me to color selection

Remember in "Schindler's List" there was a young girl in a red coat? The splash of red helped personalize the mass murders, because Oscar later saw that red coat when they exhumed victims from a mass grave.

I feel such devices should only be used to advance a story. There's no deep meaning in the Shamrock, I just did it because I could.

[postatomic]

13. I don't always have the time to look at all the photos

But I try to look at yours.

I just picked up a Yashica Mat in mint condition and the other day I got my B&W lomography film. A few downtown outings are in my future. I do enjoy seeing the work of someone who obviously has a love for photography.

[alfredo]

14. Of all the cameras I owned, the YashicaD is the only one I

regret letting go. Loved that camera. I can't wait to see your results.

I tried out the SONY Nex, and I liked the swiveling LCD that allows for shooting from the hip. It made me think of my YashicaD.

Thanks for the kind words. Photography is so much fun.

[juxtaposed]

15. I'm really getting hooked on your images, real strong shit