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Saturday, August 11, 2007

Faded To Fabulous - and Beyond!

Two days ago, I posted “Faded To Fabulous”. I thought I was done. I was happy with the results. My sister Gail was happy with the results, but preferred the middle photo of the transformation. All was good. Then George Geder commented. He’s a kind man. He’s a professional. He complimented Mom and Dad and my work. Then he urged me to do more: cropping, cloning, healing. I was grateful for his unemotional, experienced photographer’s eye. But I was also scared. Why? It took me a bit to figure it out, but I finally realized that I viewed the photo of Mom and Dad as sacred. I shouldn’t be doing anything as “bold” as what George was suggesting - should I?

Then the light bulb went off. Just as I had carefully saved the original and each successive version of the Dorothy and George photograph, I would copy my “final” version and work on that. I did. Here are the results. Nothing lost. Everything gained. So Mr. Geder, as the old George M. Cohan line goes: “My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. And I thank you!”

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lee,

And I thank you!

You did an excellent job. Those little retouches do not impact the integrity of the subjects in the original photograph.

It's when folks go overboard with photoshop, as in the editors of the Enquirer or Time magazine, that I get upset.

What you did, with today's technology, is what the photographer might have done (panned to the right, step closer, re-positioned D & G, etc.) if he/she had the time and opportunity. All of the real elements of the environment and event are intact. Besides, you still have the original! The best of all worlds.

Peace,
"Guided by the Ancestors"

Roo said...

Great photo Lee ;o) They look so happy

Pink Granite said...

Hi George -
You made some great points about what the photographer might have done a half century ago. I also will keep the phrase "integrity of the subjects" in mind when using digital tools.
This was a very good learning experience for me!
Thanks Teach!
;o)
- Lee

Thanks Roo!
I love how they are both beaming in that photo!
;o)
- Lee

burekaboy — said...

hi lee,

great photo. i love photoshop; it's a very useful tool for all sorts of projects, albeit a bit complicated at times.

funny, i was just gonna ask if that was a picture from the 40s .... your mom's clothing gave it away (saw the answer when i downscrolled to your earlier posting). very elegant period in history. quite the difference from pants down to the ankles and underwear sticking out that we see today! LOL.

SoulPony said...

great work. it takes a while to find the difference. that must be a good thing.

Pink Granite said...

Thanks BB!
There certainly was a sense of style and flair back then! While the "rules" must have sometimes felt too restrictive, there are moments now when some outfits leave me slackjawed - and not in a good way!
:o)
- Lee


Thanks Tonya!
It is a compliment that it takes some time to "Where's Waldo" the changes!
;o)
- Lee