Check out these free photo software images:
Barn bathed in sunlight - New Zealand
Image by theirishkiwi
I use Darktable to develop my RAW files, Darktable is free software (free as in speech not as in beer) which incorporates a lighttable to review you negatives or undeveloped RAW files and a darkroom for developing RAW files, hence the name, Darktable. I like it because the work-flow is simple and easy to follow as you don't get lost in lots of menus, you just work down a list of actions. All changes are non-destructive as well as plugin based so you can switch each on and off easily. Here is my original attempt. I think I much prefer this version which seems alot more natural and brighter too.
Here's what I did;
In Darktable
- Re-imported RAW file running the AMaZE algorithm on it to reduce CA
- Cropped
- set black and white points (stretched histogram making the whites whiter and blacks blacker)
- improved saturation
- sharpened
-correct white balance
In GIMP... I used burning to darken down the barn making it stand out a little more, resized for flickr and added a frame.
Challenge 82
Image by J M Ross
1. Added tonal contrast using Nik Software.
2. Dropped in new sky to add some clouds.
3. Added mist over the river. Created a new layer and filled with grey. Then ran the render clouds filter. Next I distorted the clouds using Free Transform. I set the blend mode to soft light and used a black layer mask to hide the effect. Using a white brush i painted the mist back over the surface of the river.
4. Next I added a slight vignette. I did this by merging all layers to a new layer and changing the blend mode to multiply. I made a rectangular selection close to the edge and used refine selection to feather it. Deleted the selection leaving the vignette.
5. On a new layer I created the travel stamp. I used Free transform to re-size and rotate it. I distressed it using a layer mask and painted black with a textured brush.
6. Added a stroke around the picture. Increased the canvas size and added a drop shadow. The drop shadow was created on a new layer below the main photo. I filled it with black and blurred it. Next I warped it to create the arch shape and moved in down. Reduced the opacity of the shadow to 50%.
