Some More of St. Michael's, Maryland
Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy . . click on picture, then
the F11 key to see a larger image.
Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy . . click on picture, then
the F11 key to see a larger image.
Month: June 2003
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I'm feelin a little like Job . . .
Let's see . . . first there was the car battery. That was last week. I had just gotten off work and tried to start the car but the battery was dead. One of the fellows at work used my jumper cables and got my car started and I went straight home. My husband went to the tire and battery store and . . . KA-CHING!! $75 for a new battery. Then two days later my refrigerator started leaking all over the kitchen floor and we had to call the "Appliance Rescue Squad". KA-CHING!! $75 for the service call.
All went well for a whole day and a half. Then the refrigerator started leaking again. Again the Appliance Rescue Squad came out, but this time after 2 1/2 hours trying to find the source of the leak he said he thought it was time to say farewell to our 36 year old refrigerator. KA-CHING!! $1,000 for a refrigerator, but they can't deliver it till this coming Saturday so we have towels stuffed at the base of the old one till then.
When my husband woke up this morning he was itching all over and had red blotches and little blisters all over his arms, neck and face. He made a quick appointment with the dermatologist. KA-CHING!! $60 Office visit. He has poison ivy.
This evening my husband used my car to run to the drug store and called me shortly thereafter to ask me to come pick him up. My car is dead again . . but the battery is A-OK. We couldn't get it jumped so we'll have to have it towed tomorrow. KA-CHING!! $???
When we got back home the drain hose on the washer had sprung a leak and the laundry room floor was flooded. Hubby went to Home Depot and . . . KA-CHING!! WOW, only $6 for a new hose.
And as if all that weren't enough we're having lay-offs this week at my company and who knows what will happen. Scuttlebutt has it that the cuts are going to be quite extensive.
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St. Michaels, Maryland
One of the many towns my sister and I visited on our Chesapeake Bay vacation last year was St. Michaels, Maryland. It was an enchanting town with plenty of older picturesque homes. Here is a sampling of just a few of them.
Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy . . . click on picture, then the F11 key to see a larger image.
Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy . . . click on picture, then the F11 key to see a larger image.
Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy . . . click on picture, then the F11 key to see a larger image. -
No Hocus Pocus Here
Missbev asked me how I do the pictures that I enhance to make look like watercolor paintings. So here's how, Bev.
Original Photo by Chris Duffy
First of all I look at the photo and ask myself, "What's wrong with this picture?" That's what my sister Alice said that I should do and since she's the artist in the family I put a lot of stock into what she says. So, what IS wrong with this picture? Plenty. I don't like the power lines and I wish the fire hydrant wasn't there, along with the parked cars and the DO NOT ENTER sign.
Altered Photo - Step 1
So I removed them . . . by cropping and/or using the clone tool in Paint Shop Pro. I also use the "Color/Adjust/Contrast" tool to give the picture more contrast and definition. I sometimes also use the "Color/Adjust/Saturation" tool to punch up the color if it needs it.
Altered photo - Steps 2 and 3
I then use the "Edge Preserving Smooth" tool to get rid of the minute details. Depending on the subject matter and the desired effect I'll use this tool once, twice and sometimes even three times. The Brush Strokes tool is what I use next to add the desired brush strokes.
This next part is not very pretty, but it's worth it.
Altered Photo - Steps 4, 5 and 6
What I do is make a COPY of the altered picture and use the "Hot Wax" tool on that copy to get the above look.
Altered photo - Steps 7-8 and 9
Then I copy THAT picture back onto the altered picture AS A LAYER (that's important) and use the "Layer Palette" tool to back off that layer to anywhere I choose from 100% to 0% . . . usually somewhere between 50% and 75% for me. Then I merge the two layers.
Altered picture - Steps 10-11 and 12
And for the last three steps I use the "create or edit text" tool to sign my name, then the "texture" tool to create the look of textured watercolor paper, and finally the "Image/Add Border" from the menu to add a very small black border around the finished picture.
And many many thanks to my sister Alice who pain stakingly taught me how to do this. I have more fun taking my photos and "playing" with them in Paint Shop Pro. And we're planning on a trip to Northwest Arkansas this year, which ought to provide each of us with hundreds of pictures. We can hardly wait.
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