Anvil, Saugus Iron Works

On April 21, 2017, in Massachusetts, by admin
Anvil, Saugus Ironworks

Anvil, Saugus Ironworks (click to enlarge)

Here is an anvil located in one of the Saugus Iron Works buildings.  The buildings on the iron works grounds are full of old implements that make for interesting compositions.

Set your tripod in the middle of any building on the site.  Every where you point your camera there is an interesting black and white subject begging to be explored.  Given the age of the site, capturing black and white images just feels right.

Saugus Ironworks N42 28 08.94 W71 00 24.83

Panorama of Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site

Panorama of Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site (click to enlarge)

Saugus Ironworks could be my favorite National Historic Site.  My family hails from the Boston area, but we only recently stopped by this site.  All of these buildings offer old tools, bellows, waterwheels, wooden gears, and other details for the photography buff in your group.  While the site is small, a photographer could spend several hours snapping away.  So be warned!

The image above is a panorama stitched together from 5 individual images.

Saugus Ironworks N42 28 08.94 W71 00 24.83

Horse Shoe Bandana

On March 4, 2017, in Montana, Photoshop Tips, by admin

 

Horsehoe Bandana

Horse Shoe Bandana (click to enlarge)

Here is a wall hanging at my friends house in Montana.  Being Montana, the horse shoe motif is rampant everywhere you go.  In the original image the horse shoes are rust colored and hanging on a brown wall.  That setting accentuates the faded red bandana.

In my image I wanted to make the bandana really shine.  I converted the image to black and white, then used a layer mask to expose the original bandana colors.  This gives the viewers eye two images to explore in a single image.  The eye can explore textures, shapes, and patterns in the horse shoes and wall and then focus on the bandana weaving around the horse shoes.

Using layer masks to eliminate or highlight different parts of an image is a common task in Photoshop.  I first learned this technique at the Washington School of Photography which sadly no longer exists.  Fortunately, there are many tutorials on how to do this such as this one.

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