Allaire State Park, NJ ~ Topaz Simplify BuzSim filter, I converted it to B&W with Nik Silver Efex and applied the green photo filter inside the program. I thought it looked a bit like an infrared image.
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I used the Topaz Simplify BuzSim filter for both of these images. Some of you may have seen my previous blog post (if not scroll down this page). I used the Topaz Simplify BuzSim filter set to default and at full strength on both of the images to exaggerate the stained glass effect. For the images in today’s post I wanted the filter to stand out but not overpower the image since I felt the original image had a daintier feel to it than the ones I posted yesterday. The amount of filter I use depends on how I view the base image.
Allaire State Park is very close to my home. I am usually there on a daily basis and I have photographed the place extensively. I still don’t feel that I am done with Allaire. The park seems to draw me in. There are no grand landscapes and the small village is just relatively interesting. Still there is an allure that is Allaire. I often tell my friend that I am going to write a book about the place. I think some day when I’ve had my fill, I will let my images tell the story for me…
Same image, Topaz Simplify BuzSim filter, I desaturated the original and color toned it (which obviously you could do to your liking).
Join Denise Ippolito for a 3-Day workshop at the infamous Barnegat Jetty in Barnegat Light New Jersey. I will instruct you on how to get close to the ducks and shorebirds that frequent the jetty. We should have lots of opportunities to photograph Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck (formerly Oldsquaw), Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, Red-breasted Merganser, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Common Eider, and Brant. The shorebird species include; Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, Black-bellied Plover, and Sanderling . In the last couple of years I have seen Harbour Seals sun bathing on the rocks. We should also have plenty of opportunity for flight photography also.
Schedule:
Friday evening we will meet at the Jetty at 3:00 pm to go over basic safety rules ~ then we will photograph till dark.
Saturday Morning we will shoot all morning at the jetty then break for lunch, download our images and do a laptop session going over some of our images from the morning.
Saturday evening we will go back out on the jetty for an afternoon of photography.
Sunday morning we will shoot all morning then break for lunch and another laptop session.
DATES: JANUARY 6, 7 and 8TH, 2012
Place: BARNEGAT JETTY, BARNEGAT LIGHT, NJ
TIME: FRIDAY 3:00PM SHARP TILL SUNDAY 1:PM
COST: $799.00 INCLUDES LUNCH ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY PLUS 2 LAPTOP SESSIONS
I like the B&W best. You should fill Barnegat fast as that place rocks and you know it better than anyone!
Thanks Artie, I am looking forward to getting out there!!
denise
Denise, it’s a toss-up between the two images for me…I think they both have qualities that would draw one or the other to me on any given day. I like the unique warm color tone you added to the second…it seems, to me, softer and more inviting. The B&W version has a fantasy-like illusion to it…you almost expect to see a small fairy flitting through the image! Thanks for sharing.
John, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment.
denise
Denise, I love both versions of the image! Perhaps the toned one just a touch more, but both are very lovely. Nice to be so close to a beautiful location. Always love your images from the jetty!
Hi Andrew, Thank you kindly. I really am very lucky to live so close to this park.
denise
I like them both, wonderful job Denise!
Phillip, Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the feedback!
denise
Using the green filter in Silver Efex Pro was a great idea! It does give an infrared effect. I like both images. A lot.
If I hadn’t been computerless, today, until just a few minutes ago, I’d certainly have responded sooner. Good grief, it’s not every day one’s name appears in the title of a posting. And I’d also have spent some time on one of my images — perhaps from Allaire — to try sorting out if I thought the reduced Topaz Simplify effect was important in my reaction to these images. (I certainly liked the one from the last posting with the stronger application of Simplify, but these are even more appealing. Today, at least.)
Here’s my prediction… I’m going to like a stronger (more simplified) Topaz BuzSim effect with your Silver Efex Pro approach if I can reduce the stained glass part of it by layer masking. I’ll let you know.
Dennis, I’m glad you are back on line and I’m glad you saw this and I’m glad you like it. When I choose a filter for an image it is based on that particular image and the amount I use or the way I use it will vary from image to image and from day to day as I am sure is the case with you. This pathway in Allaire always catches my eye, the next time it snows I am going to get up early and photograph it with untouched snow.
denise
That path looks enchanting – I can see why you keep returning.
Thanks Journey Photographic! That’s the perfect word… enchanting.
denise
Here’s what happened when I did the reduce-the-stained-glass-by-masking experiment. It WAS on an Allaire image, a vertical shot of the enameling furnace building showing a bit of the back of the building but mostly the end with the chimney. The building was framed with leaves, and that meant there’d be some stained glass look.
With the blue sky, green trees and ivy, the brown patches where there was no grass, and those wonderful orange bricks showing through the old white paint, I decided to do it in color instead of Silver Efex. Except for cutting down the saturation to 1.0, I used the default Topaz Simplify BuzSim settings, so it was nicely simplified. With the exception of the extreme stained glass effect, I was happy with the outcome. Reducing — but not eliminating — it locally by masking did the trick. The experiment was a success.
I’ve always darkened the edges in some way when I use BuzSim, and I’ve tried many approaches — the edge feature in Simplify, Fractalius, Photoshop’s accented edges, and some others, but I’ve never been really satisfied. Until now, that is. I ran the Simplifyed layer through Snap Art 3 using the Stylize filter and blended the result using Darken at a low opacity. It was just what I’d been looking for.
Dennis, Very interesting to use the Snap Art, please send me the before and after or provide a link to the image. You have stirred my curiosity.
denise