Our state tree here in Missouri is the dogwood. Until today, my friend didn’t realize dogwoods came in white, yellow, light pink and dark pink. And, besides being a tree, they are also a flower.
Back at Powell Gardens today, all of them were in bloom and they were magnificent. This one was off near a wooded area with the mid-day sun shining down on its bright white blossoms.
Taken two weeks ago in the little town of Correll, MO, this weathervane immediately caught my attention. It had been gray and overcast all morning but it made no difference to the gray metal horse.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve talked quite a bit about a group of actions that I’ve started using to help me get some really cool effects into my photo repertoire using Photoshop CS3. Actions are kind of like a macro is in Microsoft Word - it is a list of things that runs automatically to help you apply different effects to your end result.
There are two places where I have found some real gems and all of them are FREE. The first place is “Action Central” and they have more free actions than you can shake a stick at. These are some of the ones I’ve found myself using over and over again:
A2D Infrared – gives images an infrared effect
A2D Lomo – gives images a lomographic (highly processed/urban feel) effect
Aly’s Vintage – six different “vintage” effects
Gothic Glow – gives a glowing and feathering effect
Midnight Action Collection – a set of four midnight effects that darkens and deepens your images
Paint with Light – Helps you lighten or darken very specific areas of your photo like you were painting them on with a brush.
Rich Color Landscapes – takes your outdoor photos up a couple of notches.
Tracy’s Fill Flash Action – Forgot to use fill flash? Here you go! This is a lot like Paint with Light but a little more white whereas the PWL action is a little more “golden”.
Urban Acid – Very high key, contemporary look
Thomas Niemann’s Tones – I adore this one! It converts your photo to black & white and then lets you choose which finish to add: silver, silver gelatin, platinum, etc. You can really take your b&w conversions up a notch with this action.
Rule of Thirds – Not sure where to crop your photo? Apply the ROT action over the top and let it help you make the best decision. Then finish the photo and the grid goes away like magic!
The other place I found a set of free actions was over at Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. She recently put together a set of Actions and they really rock. They come as a set and are free for the taking:
Fresh and Colorful: Clean & crisp; works great for shots with skies and color.
Lovely and Ethereal: Just like the name: soft, with a slight boost of color/contrast, and pleasing.
B&W Beauty: A nice, straightforward black & white conversion. Fine on its own, or combined with other actions (”Boost”, for example).
PW’s B & W: A black & white with a little more contrast, with some burned edges at the end.
Soft and Faded: Mellow, slightly desaturated, effect. Tends to give photos an overall yellowish tone so I don’t use this one as much as the others.
Vintage: Old-time, weathered, aged look. It makes a pretty strong statement, so it’s usually not right for everyday snapshots. But used on the right photo, this action can be really dramatic.
Boost: This is an awesome “pop” for just about any photo.
Define and Sharpen: Adds crispness and definition.
Flatten: Wish this was available for my tummy area…
Slight Lighten: Give everything just a bit of brightening.
Slight Sharpen: A mild unsharp mask action.
Quick Edge Burn: A really nice vignette.
Start All Over! Hate where your image went? Try again with a click of the button!
There are lots more wonderful actions out there - even some for Photoshop Elements if you do a Google search. These are some of my favorites, though, and thought it would be nice to share the wealth that is out there for the taking.
If you have any questions, give me a holler at Heyjules.mwg(at)gmail(dot)com.
Here’s a photo I did last night using some of the PW Action set ( Lovely & Ethereal & Slight Lighten.)
I love a nice hunk of wood. There’s something about seeing to the core of a tree that really fascinates me. What left these marks? How did they get buried so deep? How long did it take to make them? So much to wonder about…
I was cleaning up my hard drive this weekend and closing out my photos for the months of January and February when I ran across a series of photos I took just a few days after I received my new Canon 40D. I even posted this same photo awhile back and many of you really liked the original version.
However…
I downloaded some new PS actions on Monday and was playing around with them when I ran this photo through one of those new actions and Kabaam! That photo popped like an over blown baloon!
It just goes to show you that you’re never really done with what a photo COULD be…you just have to reach a point where you no longer care to make it better than it already is. I’m almost to that point with this photo…but not quite. 
In the meantime, here’s the new pumped up version for your viewing pleasure.
Two nights ago this was the last image I snapped as I walked from a nearby lake to my car. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again:
NEVER TURN YOUR CAMERA OFF
UNTIL YOU’RE KEY IS IN THE IGNITION.
I’m furiously working away on a black and white series that I’m submitting to my church for their Holy Week “Walk to the Cross” so there’s no time to shoot, edit or print anything else. I realized as I was thumbing through some old images that I don’t think I ever showed you my favorite sunset of the past year. It happened in November and was a series of changing tones, colors and moods all rolled into one dazzling night. Here are a few of my favorites from that night…
I needed a change of scenery so I headed over to the Parkville Nature Sanctuary this morning and walked through the woods for a couple of hours. I ran into one family on a nature hike and a fellow photographer who knew the waterfall would be a great place to shoot in weather like this. I’m still working on the waterfall images but this one was a quick fix. Taken up close with my new Canon 100mm macro lens it only needed a quick crop and a little brightness added.
Doesn’t it kind of look like an oyster on a half shell at a fancy restaurant?
No matter what it is, I’m rather “lichen” it.
