Evolution of a Photograph

I earned a day off of work today, so I decided to reconnect with my love of photography and photo processing.  I spent the morning browsing through unprocessed images from a trip I took to South Africa last November.  One of them caught my eye as having potential to be a nice image.  But as with most RAW images, it's kind of hard to really see the whole potential of an image until the post processing begins. 

The image below shows the evolution of the post processing.  On the left is the RAW capture.  The middle image is what I first envisioned.  The image on the right is what evolved as I will discuss below. 

I decided I wanted to make this image a simple, colorful landscape. But when I was finished, I had the image in the middle and was pretty unsatisfied with the result.  I mean, who needs another colorful landscape shot.  How predictable and uninteresting.  It doesn't have a mood, it doesn't feel like art.  It feels like a nice vacation snapshot.

My thought process then turned to what I disliked most about the image...the predictable color.  It's just too pretty.  I liked the tonal range of the image and the composition, but the color was just too much.  Plus it was just to crisp and clean.  I decided it would be more interesting if it had the appearance of being an old photograph.  More importantly, I wanted it to look like an old photograph from a cheap camera.  This means manipulating the color to appear faded, and the sharpness to appear made from a cheap lens.  Finally, I found it irresistible to add some other elements of aging.  What I ended up with is something I feel is a complete blending of art and photography.  This is really where I want to be with my work. 

It wasn't immediately apparent to me as I began processing this image what I would end up with.  Experimentation yielded something I am very happy with.  Let me not forget, that most of my favorite images came from fairly uninspiring RAW files like this one.  It just takes a little vision and a little time, and most of all, a disgust for the predictable. 

Comments

[jude]

I never thought I'd say this, Chuck, but damn we think alike. (Scary for YOU, huh?) :P

I process along the same lines and have - for the past year - wondered if something was wrong with me that I am not satisfied with what would be a very good photo to the majority of viewers/fellow photographers. To me, your middle photo is a perfect example of this. I have worried that maybe I've delved into playing with effects, actions, and brushes too much and the outcome is that I'm not really a "photographer"... or maybe that's what some photographers infer when they dislike my work - that it's not really photography.

Well, it IS photography. I take decent photos and a great deal of them are excellent ones by most standards, but I seek more along the work of art, as you have shown in the final image.

Thanks for showing the stages of your process. I'm glad for it because I often think photographers of your ilk are far removed from me in thought process, etc. Nice to know you ponder the same sorts of things and are not afraid to experiment to achieve what pleases you.

[Craig Persel]

Really fantastic work on this image. The result is masterful. Like Jude (and you) I really dig on the post-processing aspect of photography and this image is a gold standard.

[Brad Wiederholt]

Great Chuck! Texturing is something I've never tried and don't know much about, but after seeing this result, looks like it has a lot of potential. Not just scratch textures, but other things depending on the mood you're trying to create, wood, walls, paper, paint, etc. Don't really know what I'm really talking about, maybe this is well-known technique and old hat for most folks. Thanks for the demo!

[David]

I'm sure I delete far too many of my RAW files based on an apparent lack of potential... I'm ruthlesss in this way.
This is an awe inspiring example of what one can achieve in post production. You havent just changed the tones and added the surface scrapes; the LIGHT has actually changed!
I need to remember this as an example of how clicking the shutter button can only be the start.
My postprocessing skills are very limited and so the choice of subject matter is everything to me. I just can't seem to do this like yourself, Jude or Craig.
Well done anyway...this one should make one of your proudest and should also rekindle your drive.

[Steve S]

I think you've just rationalised my own un-coordinated thoughts on this subject! I now feel that I could reprocess every one of my 'straight' shots and in some way improve upon them. My only concern is that I don't want to turn my back on straight photography, but if you're trying to create a mood and atmosphere, even if it doesn't reflect reality, then this kind of process is exactly the way to go.