August One Photo Focus

Posted on by Stacy P. Fischer

Highlighting the creative magic behind post-processed photos

Welcome to ABFriday’s monthly One Photo Focus! This month, 25 photographers are sharing their post-processing interpretations of one “before” image of the London Eye submitted by Robin Kent of PhotographybyKent.

We begin with Robin’s “before” image, followed by the “afters,” and at the end, a gallery of all so you can watch the changes as you scroll through. Be sure to click the links to each participant’s blog as many have written posts “uncovering the magic” behind their “after” images. And if you would like to participate in September’s One Photo Focus, you’ll find all the details on the After-Before Friday Forum page.

BEFORE PHOTO

London Eye submitted by Robin Kent for One Photo Focus

Submitted by Robin Kent — PhotographybyKent

Robin Kent, PhotographybyKent

Robin says: Since it was my turn to provide the image, I decided to play it straight for a change.  I figured the group would come up with some excellent wild and crazy stuff and I am looking forward to seeing them all.

Submitted by Stacy Fischer — Visual Venturing

Stacy Fischer, Visual Venturing

Having taken a spin on the London Eye a number of years ago, I loved revisiting the memory with Robin’s photo! This month, I decided to be a little more “artsy” in my editing approach, in keeping with the “fun” of the giant wheel. In addition to correcting the vertical lines and lens profile of the original image, I used a few presets in LR to emphasize the light that brightened the wheel, the facade of the adjacent building, and the building in the background. I cropped the image into a square to bring more focus to the wheel and then exported into Topaz Impressions, a program I use very little. But once in, I loved the look of one of the watercolor filters, tweaking it a bit to customize the result. Back in LR, I applied another filter to lighten the image overall, added a graduated filter to the water at the bottom to lighten that up a bit more, and finished up with a slight vignette.

Thanks, Robin, for a wonderful image and bon voyage as you begin your journey through the Northwest Passage; I can’t wait to experience that adventure through your lens!

Submitted by Bren Ryan — RyanPhotography

Bren Ryan, RyanPhotography

The London Eye – photograph taken by Robin Kent and procesed in Lightroom by RyanPhotography

Submitted by Brenda — A Meditative Journey with Saldage

Brenda, A Meditative Journey with Saldage
Brenda says: As I began my editing of Robin’s raw image in Capture One, I also applied a keystone adjustment to the ferris wheel before cropping and moving into ON 1 Enhance Effects and then Color Efex Pro 2. While in Color Efex, I played around with their Detail Extractor, Tonal Contrast, Vintage, and Sunlight layers before ending with Polaroid Transfer to give it a holiday souvenir touch. I then finished the image with Photoshop’s dodging tool to lightly bring out the reflections in the water.

 Submitted by Bud — A Young Retirement

Bud, A Young Retirement

Submitted by Ted Griffith — Ted Griffith’s Photo Art Studio

Ted Griffith, Ted Griffith's Photo Art Studio

Submitted by Laura Macky — Laura Macky Photography

Laura Macky, Laura Macky Photography

Submitted by Julie Powell — Julie Powell Photography

Julie Powell, Julie Powell Photography

 Submitted by Sherry Felix – Port4u

Sherry Felix, port4u

London Eye by Robin Kent edited by Sherry Felix

Sherry says: Robin’s original was perfect. I straightened the Ferris wheel and darkened the sky in Lightroom. Then in Photoshop, added wisps of mist, and stars to make it mystical (above).

In 1956 when I was seven my mother and I moved to London. It was my job to light the coal fire in our flat at Queensborough Terrace, near Kensington Gardens. Central heating was not common then; therefore, London was a much foggier place. I remember fogs so thick it was hard to see a yard ahead. Coal fires helped create smog, a mix of smoke and fog. Yellow smog was tinged by the Sulphur in the coal. Those were called “pea soupers”. The Great Smog of 1952 (Wikipedia) killed many Londoners. Dirty unwashed and untreated coals were eventually banned and smoke free coals and fuels used instead. Now central heating is the norm and fireplaces occasionally used to create ambience.

Submitted by Katie Prior — Drawing with Light

Katie Prior, Drawing with Light

Submitted by Y. Prior — In the Zone 2001

Y. Prior, In the Zone 2001

Y. Prior says: I increased the color intensity to darken the water (more than it already was) and this also highlighted the color in the flags and green building top. I straightened the ferris wheel by moving it to the left a little, cropped the building on the right.

I decided to connect Robin Kent’s London image to the Jason Bourne theme because when Stacey emailed us the photo, we were watching The Bourne Identity (2002) and the scene with the Treadstone Safe House in Paris looked like it could fit nicely into this building.

Submitted by George McCane — Photoman401

George McCane, Photoman401

Submitted by Rajiv Chopra — rajivchopra

Rajiv Chopra, rajivchopra

Submitted by Cee Neuner — Cee’s Photography

Cee Neuner, Cee's Photography

Submitted by Yan Balczewski — From Hiding to Blogging

Yan Balczewski, From Hiding to Blogging

 Submitted by Amy — The World Is a Book

Amy, The World Is a Book

Submitted by Ashleigh Pienaar — Through the Viewfinder

Ashleigh Pienaar, Through the Viewfinder

 Submitted by David Croker – CADEPhotographic

David Croker, CADEPhotographic

David says: As I live quite close to London, I have photographed the London Eye from a range of angles so for me, getting to edit someone elses was an opportunity to push the boundaries a bit. My plan was to simulate an HDR of the single image provided and try to bring out the of the drama that I could see within the clouds. It was quite a lengthy process as I had to change exposure and contrast levels in Lightroom ending up with what could effectively be classed as a 5 bracket HDR before exporting to PhotoMatix Pro for finishing off. An enjoyable image to work with. You can see the full process on CADEPhotographic.

Submitted by Marie — The Syllabub Sea

Marie, The Syllabub Sea

 Submitted by Emilio Pasquale — Photos by Emilio

Emilio Pasquale, Photos by Emilio

 Submitted by Michelle Lunato — Michelle Lunato Photography

Michelle Lunato, Michelle Lunato Photography

Michelle says: Since I have never been to London, I thought I would try to make the great shot a post card…

Submitted by Madison Shaye — Madison Shaye’s Blog

Madison Shaye, Madison Shaye Blog

Madison says: I removed the background in order to bring more color into the photo. I decided to only keep the main building and added a little layer of beach.

 Submitted by Raewyn — decocraftsdigicrafts

Raewyn, decocraftsdigicrafts

Submitted by Linda James — Rainy Day Reflections

Linda James, Rainy Day Reflections

 Submitted by Joanne Ritchie — Coffee Fuels My Photography!

Joanne Ritchie, Coffee Fuels My Photography!

Joanne says: My goodness, Robin’s photo had my creative juices in a twirl for so long that eventually I used that as my inspiration!

The London Eye – photograph taken by Robin Kent and procesed in Lightroom by RyanPhotography
London Eye by Robin Kent edited by Sherry Felix

 Please click on the links of those who contributed this week, to read about their post-processing steps and/or to see what other treasures they have on their blogs. They’d love to have you visit!

So what do you think of the ABFriday forum?

Feel free to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comment section. And don’t forget to view the guidelines if you want to participate. I’d love to have you onboard!

37 thoughts on “August One Photo Focus”

  1. This is my first time looking at this series and I am glad I have found it. It is really interesting to see what the photographers / editors have done with the photos – so different to anything I would have thought of.

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    • Cill & Chris, thank you so much for your kind comment and my apologies for taking so long to reply. The series ran for close to two years and it was only this past December that I took a step back from hosting it. In fact, I have not published a post on my blog since November 11, when I wrote about the need to take some time away from what has been an amazing supportive platform to re-evaluate the purpose and direction of my photography. I urge you to visit the other One Photo Focus posts though and to click on the links of the photographers who participated to read their explanations of their chosen edits. It was a fascinating, fun, and educational forum, but best of all, one where participants and readers alike supported the efforts of all. So glad you found it!

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  8. LOVE reveal day for this challenge and my gosh, what incredible submissions this month for OPF – all so uniquely brilliant! Thank you as always Stacy for this amazing opportunity.😄

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  10. I really enjoy seeing all the diverse interpretations of one photo. It’s amazing to me how everyone uses their post-processing skills. Thanks Stacy for the another great OPF.

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  11. Wow these were the more diverse edits so far I think! Loved them! Your edit was no exception in that you were very creative with it. I love how wipsy and dreamy the water looks and the tone is just fantastic! Thanks again Stacy for another fun month. 🙂

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  17. Thank you Stacy for hosting this challenge and thank you Robin for a wonderful photograph to edit… what amazing edits people have done… it never ceases to amaze me of how creative people are and how inspirational the edits are… xx

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  18. Thanks for another great edition of OnePhoto Focus, Stacy. I’m always amazed at the incredible interpretations of a given image and this month was no different. This group of post-processing magicians is truly impressive.

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