Surrealism “Propaganda”
I had this idea for a couple of days and finally decided to do it yesterday. This was the process (very very roughly)
Step 1: Getting the initial photos
This is the embarassing part. You'll look silly almost no matter what - trying to get a self-portrait in a suitable position that you envision. A camera on tripod, remote control and bounce-flash later though (thanks, I like my bedsheets too):
Got some stock-photography from Pierre on DeviantArt
Step 2: Putting the 2 together
I had to give the photo a bit more room at the top, so I photoshopped some more wall there. With composites, sometimes I'll mask out the individual parts as precisely as I can initially and save the respective masks in my channels. In this case, I put them together first and then masked it all together. I think that's a mistake and I should have masked the subject first (me) then masked the television. Could have saved myself quite a bit of time afterwards.
Step 3: Magic
OK, so I skipped a lot of steps - my bad - I didn't take any screenshots. I was too busy wondering "how the hell am I going to get this to blend". I guess there's always a point in these highly-processed photos where I say "I should stop right now, this is just not working", but I keep on going because it's taken so much effort already. Eventually, there's a point where I say "oh, I might have something here". I suppose that makes it all the more rewarding in the end.
I use a lot of different filters and textures and try to burn-and-dodge a lot.
Step 4: Colouring and painting light
I hate masking and I love "painting-light" and manipulating it. I think that if I actually loved masking, I could have some really amazing work.
At this point, I also did a bit of liquifying and stretched/distorted parts of the photo.
Almost 3 hours later, this was the final shot:
Full-res texture (Creative-commons)
Free texture for commerical/non-commercial work (creative-commons license):
If you do use it, I'd love to see what you come up with!
Canon releases 40D Firmware-update
You can download the firmware here - EOS 40D Firmware Update Version 1.1.1
- Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes a low battery indication to be displayed when using the EF 85mm F1.2L II USM lens. Depending on the battery check timing of the camera, the battery level displayed on the camera’s LCD data panel may shows Battery will be exhausted soon or Battery must be recharged, even though the battery capacity is sufficient.
- Fixes a malfunction that in rare occurrence causes an Err 06 Self Cleaning Sensor malfunction to appear on the camera’s LCD monitor and LCD data panel, even when the Self Cleaning Sensor Unit is operating normally. This message may appear depending on the timing of when the camera is switch to the ON position.
- Fixes a malfunction that prevents correct colors from being printed when direct printing. RAW images captured using the camera’s custom Picture Styles (Emerald, etc.), which have been downloaded from Canon’s Web site and registered under User Def. 2 or User Def. 3.
- Modifies the level of subject brightness that causes the AF-assist beam to fire when using an external Speedlite.
- Enables an external flash connected to the camera’s synchro terminal to fire even when the camera’s built-in flash is popped up.
- Version 1.1.1 firmware is for EOS 40D cameras with firmware up to Version 1.1.0. If the camera’s firmware is already Version 1.1.1, it is not necessary to update the firmware.
Photo Retouching – Before and After
Below is a before-and-after comparison of a photo I've been working on retouching:
Took me almost an hour and a half to do, but it was completely worth it in the end.
Will post the photo to Flickr later on today.
UPDATE:
How to get a stuck-filter off a lens
I had circular-polarizer filter stuck on a lens recently (not sure how I managed to get it that tightly stuck either) and tried a bunch of different things to take it off - to no avail. It was considerably harder to take off because circular-polarizers have a top piece that is designed to turn.
One solution would have been to use a rubber-filter-wrench - but I couldn't find one. So I figured out the easiest solution was to use some masking-tape: Apply the masking-tape around the filter 2 or 3 times and make sure it's stuck-on really tight. Then twist - hopefully that should give yourself more surface-area to get it off.