Assignment 2: Photo Manipulation

   One of my hobbies is taking pictures. In particular, I love to take picture of landscape and nature. It is very interesting to transform the photo from original. Using the free online editing tools allowed me to play around with my photos and to see what I am able to do to my picture.

                     

               Original

                                        Edited Photo 1

    I took this picture in the Toronto Zoo in June 2011. As you can see, I took the photo in low light conditions therefore the colors of picture were little bit dim, so I would like to make it much more vivid and richer. I used Picasa 3 version to edit the picture. At first, for this photo I have chosen, I tried to make it livelier by brightening the colors, sharpening it. I also used shadows function and highlights tool to make the picture look like natural, but I still felt that I had to add more tools to show what I wanted to express. After that, I chose the effect of boost to improve the color saturation. The last thing that I changed for this picture, I added museum matte flame to the photo to look like hanging at art gallery.

 

                                                                                                          
                           Edited Photo 2

  

    This picture is exactly the same what I did one above, I just added to use 1960’s tool, but I didn’t change background color and fade function. This is one of my favorite effects in Photoshop, which transformed a modern photo into old photo. As seen above, with the modification, the feeling of a peaceful zebra was well expressed in the picture.

                                            Original

                                         Edited Photo

     I took the above picture from the city of Ottawa in May 2009; it was my first travel since I came to Canada, and so I had great expectations for the trip. Unluckily, as you can see, the day I captured this photo was not a good day. It was very dark and cloudy. For this photo, I tried to make it bright sunny day with Picasa 3 version. I adjusted the brightness, highlights, and shadow tool first; these tools make it more clearly. The next thing I changed is that I used the effect of orton-ish. I opened the part and changed the brightness and fade slightly. After that the picture looked nicer. I also tried to use glow tools to give the picture a gauzy glow and changed intensity and radius a little bit.

 Original

                                          Edited Photo

 For the last photo, I took this photo in New York last year. I really expected to take a picture in front of this structure because the structure is one of the well known places for travellers.  I would like to highlight the letter of love, so I used fill light tool and chose the effect of cross process. Finally, I added Polaroid flame to the photo, which looks like above.

The role of portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today

1. What are main differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today?

There are many differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today. One big difference is that the quality and color of photos. Mr. Daguerre and Mr. Talbot, who were famous photographers in 1830’s, invented Daguerreotype and Calotype. Daguerreotype created images on silver plated copper and developed with warmed mercury. Calotype created negative images using paper soaked in silver chloride and sensitized with iodine vapors; therefore, portraits in the early days were mostly black, white or brown. Today, with a technological revolution, digital cameras were invented and as a result, photographs are in full-colored and high quality images, so people can get clear pictures. Photography and portraits in today’s world are also similarities from portraits in early days in some ways. One similarity is that photographs help people to build up a picture of life in early days and present days because these pictures capture time and the environment.

  
  Portrait of a Child - N. Pieneman                                              Anon.Portrait, late 19th century   

    (Fodor Museum, Amsterdam)

  
 Source: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dutch_Art_in_the Nineteenth_Century/The_History-painters               
                  http://www.answers.com/topic/ferrotype

2. Who was the photographer and who was the subject of photographs in the past and today?

In the past, the photographer was a painter or an artist who devoted their time in photography art. Since cameras in the early days were so expensive and hard to operate, photographers at that time had had high degree chemistry knowledge. Most people could not afford them, but only some people who were in high social status could take a photograph. They would hire photographers to come and take portraits of them. Now, anyone who can afford buy a camera could be a photographer. Photography is not only for rich people but everyone else. There are a great number of cameras available in today’s market. Most of the digital cameras today have a very polish design to them, making them very lightweight and convenient to carry. Moreover, it is not difficult for them to operate, and developing pictures are also cheap and easy; so, most people have their own camera and can take pictures anywhere with anyone, anything, and anytime.

                                                
                                                       Photographers  in the past


     Source: http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-greatest-inventions-of-the-19th-century.php

                                              Today's  Photographer



Source: http://www.pixiq.com/article/todays-top-100-photographers-on-twitter

3. What was the impact on technology on the portraits in the past and today?

Technology did play a significant role in photography. In the past, only black and white images were available and they were not clear. Nowadays, photographs are more vivid with many different colors and high-end quality. In the process of developing pictures, photography is easier to develop and a result, today, people can quickly get pictures whenever they want, but in the early days, it was hard to develop them because the process took a long time. Advanced technology increased the performances of cameras and brought photography into a more improved era. Photos can be operated to make them better by editing errors or changing colors and backgrounds. Today, people are living convenient lives thanks to advanced technology.

                                        Sample of photo manipulation



Source:http://www.elistmania.com/still/20_female_celebrities_before_after_photoshop

 

                 
 
            CLAIRE COHEN compares the London of a century ago with photographs

         takenat the same locations today.


Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1258785/Unseen-images-lost-London-really-capital-place-live.html