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Four Ladies

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[david_gr]

I uploaded my first restoration of the watercolor of Brenda Lyles.  Please let me know what you think.  I am not sure if I have it where it needs to be.      Sorry about the delay.  I did not know that we only have a week to get restorations done.

I don't know how to copy it over here for everybody to see.  (I believe I have seen those instructions somewhere in the forum.  All I need to do is find it.)  Otherwise I would have displayed the original with the restoration.  My biggest problem was the water damage that showed alternating light and dark rows.  I used the clone tool to lighten and darken as I thought appropriate.  Is there a better way to do that?

I splurged this month and got a copy of Photshop CS2.  Adobe sent me an offer to buy it at $299, half price I could not pass it up.  I picked up the book "Photoshop CS2 on Demand" by Andy Anderson and Steve Johnson.  It does not seem easy to read and understand. I am going to take it back. I also bought Photoshop CS2 for Photographers by Martin Evening.  I hope that works out better.  Does anybody know of any other books that could help with photo restorations?

I am going to finish this before I get timed out.   Thanks for the help and patience.

David Gr

[zapphnath]

If you like video, you might like PhotoshopTV.  It's a weekly half-hour (or so) show on all things Adobe (mostly Photoshop) with lots of tutorials and walk-throughs.
Get the latest episode here: http://www.photoshoptv.com/
And back episodes can be found here: http://www.podfeed.net/podcast/Photoshop+TV/3169
Also, for more tutorials than you can shake a stick at, try http://www.pixel2life.com/tutorials/adobe_photoshop/

[glennab]

Hi David

I think I can answer a couple of your questions.  I know other volunteers use different sites from which to post their images, but I've been using Photobucket with no problem. You can go on the Photobucket.com site and set up an account free of charge, then they basically walk you through using your album.  You can upload the image, copy the address below it (the bottom one - they'll give you 3).  When you paste the address in your post, the image will appear.

You can also stay logged on permanently so you don't get timed out.  Just check the box when you log in.  I tend to go on and on and on, so I'd get frustrated being booted off in the middle of a major exposition.  Now, no worries; I can blather on as long as I want.

The absolute best book on Photoshop restorations, in my opinion, is Katrin Eismann's Photoshop Retouching & Restoration.  She recently published a version for CS2. It's very comprehensive and she's one of the true Photoshop gurus.  She also has a web site, photoshopdiva.com which has tutorials and other references.  Great site.

I have found, though that I've also gotten a lot of good information from Scott Kelby's book on channels, a book called "Color Confidence" that was recommended to me by another volunteer that I'd also recommend.  Kelby also has some excellent cds on restoration and Photoshop in general… tips & tricks, etc. (the web site for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals is a wealth of information, tutorials, forums, discounts.  Well worth the $99 it costs for a yearly membership, and you'll get Photoshop User magazine, another gem!)

This forum is a wealth of information.  You can look through previous threads and find many helpful techniques.  And if you're having an issue with your restoration and post it, you'll get plenty of help.  We have some incredibly talented and knowledgeable people in OPR, and they all are generous with their expertise.

As for having a week to complete a restoration - that's impossible for many of us.  I've had an image for months, because I work full time and have just gotten over a nasty bout of bronchitis.  Perhaps an easy restoration could be done in a short amount of time, but most of what's available is extremely difficult and time-consuming. I'm finding that our team leaders (in my case, Mike) are very understanding about the time issue as long as you keep them apprised of your progress (in my case, lack thereof).

I hope this helps - and am very glad you're part of OPR!

Best wishes,

Glenna