To give you a peak into the process of what I do to photos before they reach your eyes, today's post shows you a little "before and after" work. My original scan of this 1965 cast of characters at Disneyland looks like a mess of reds. Thanks to a little work in Photoshop, some colors actually emerge. One of these days, I would really like to take a class on color restoration, as I know there is probably a lot more I could do to help bring back some of these vintage images.
This July 18, 1955 shot of the Clock of the World at the Tomorrowland entrance looks like a dark one; many would probably toss it.
With a little help from Lightroom, details (and people) come into view.
Many vintage slides have faded into magenta oblivion; this July 1960 shot seems mighty close.
Time in Lightroom and Photoshop is well spent, bringing back some of the original vigor of this interesting Fred Gurley Disneyland Railroad shot.
Snapshots often fade even faster than negatives and slides; this September 1967 photo is no exception.
New Orleans Square looks a lot more vibrant after some time in Lightroom.
Even present day photos require some time in processing. This recent shot of Balboa Park is marred by shadows. Just not really what I wanted, as the time of day didn't cooperate with my vision of what I was trying to capture.
Desaturating it into a black and white photo made me much happier.
When I first started doing HDR (High-Dynamic-Range) photography, I got a little bit of flack from some readers who thought I should stick to traditional looking methods for the processing of my images. Here's a "regular" shot of Balboa Park.
By combining 7 shots taken in quick succession at different exposures (handheld, no tripod), this is what I came up with:
I love shooting the arches in the park; the way the light passes through and cast shadows can really create some cool images. Here's a normally processed shot:
…and the more dreamy counterpart created using HDR photography:
And there you have a tiny view into some of the work that goes into my posts!
See more vintage & current Daveland photos on my main website.
