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Semi-desperate Cry For Help....

Started by PatW, October 29, 2008, 02:09:59 PM

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PatW

I"ve been plugging away at this but am now stumped at what to do with the man's legs.   I'm not sure if I'm dealing with deep shadow or damage.  I lightened them a little to take a closer look and they are mottled & blotchy.  Do I try to rebuild them?  Do I tuck them safely back into a shadow?  I've also got a problem with the woman's hand.  Should she be wearing a wedding ring?  I can try to rebuild the hand from that one undamaged finger, but I think the wedding ring question is an important one.   I want to figure out the hand before I do the brochure she is holding.

Umm..... moderate damage = 2 hours?  You've got to be kidding.




(By the way, the color is actually a little better than the way it's showing up on the web.)

Thanks guys!

pat


GP

Hi Pat,

I think you did a great job overall and particularly on his legs. I can't see too much detail on the picture you posted. So it all depends on the size this picture is going to be printed. Thankfully his legs are in the shade anyway and you could keep them in the dark. As to the wedding ring question, I don't know what to tell you there. Maybe it's possible to contact the owner of the picture and find out?
Good luck...

Gerlinde  :)
PS CS5, PSE9, XP, Windows 7 -64bit

glennab

Hi Pat

I agree with Gerlinde.  Your color correction is great.  I'd keep the man's legs in the shadow as much as possible and if anything looks really rough, blur it a little.  The bottom portion of the photo isn't as important as the sign and the people's faces.  As for the woman's hand, I couldn't pull anything out of ANY channel in ANY color mode.  It's all damage. You might want to check with your distribution coordinator on that dilemma.

Good luck!

GK
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~Albert Pine

(Photoshop CS5 /Mac Pro)

PatW

Thank you Gerlinde & GK.   You've both improved my frame of mind!

I think I'll see how those legs print out and go from there.  It hadn't occurred to me to try a little blur on them.  That may be just the ticket.  Since this is one of Tess's pictures, I'll see if she has an idea re: to ring or not.

pat


lurch

Very nice job so far, Pat. I'm impressed with what you've done on the man's legs. Hate to tell you this, though - that dark stuff along the bottom is probably damage. Not sure I'd do any more with it, though. It's "just" a snapshot, and the memories are there already. Depends on how anal you want to be about it, and on what Tess says. I'd do something with the shadow to the woman's right (sharp edge suggests it's her shadow) - I was going to tell you about the little boy there until I realized that his sunglasses were just the arrowhead on the sign. That splotch just above is damage, though. Rough edge intruding into the shadow and surface that's grungier than the surrounding rock/concrete.

I'd guess the lady is married (I've been working on some shots from their 50th anniversary celebration). Her left hand is indistinct enough that rings might not show, though - especially if you leave the bottom dark. And I'm with you on timing; moderate damage at least on these color snapshots, does not equal two hours. Think I spent 30-40 on a recent one.

You're doing beautifully. Keep up the good work.

<C>
<C>

glennab

#5
Hi again Pat and lurch,

Just to lighten things up a bit and since you mentioned being anal (which is excruciating when trying to work on these restorations):  I had a boss who was extremely detail-oriented, as well as anal (are they synonymous?).  My art director called him a "detail oriental."  I thought it was perfect!

As for the amount of time it takes to complete a restoration, unless all you have to do is color correct and clean up a COUPLE of spots, it will take more than 2 hours to have an image worth returning to its owner.  No matter how easy it looks in the galleries, when you see the image up close and personal, I'll wager you'll say "What the heck was I thinking?".  That's been the case with every one I've done so far.  No one has pressured me, and I stay in touch with my distribution coordinator if I think I may be taking too long (a full-time job working in computer graphics not only limits my time but also causes me to deal with the "burn out" factor.)  So far, that's worked very well.

I think we have to be aware that many of our "customers" have lost nearly everything they own and are eager to have their precious memories returned to them as soon as possible, but that awareness needs to be balanced with the fact that we want to give them back the very best we can do.  Keeping that in mind, I can't think of a better job than the one we have at OPR.

Bless,

GK
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~Albert Pine

(Photoshop CS5 /Mac Pro)

PatW


Yikes!  Nice call on the shadow, Lurch.  Although I knew about the damage at the bottom, just hadn't gotten there yet, I missed that damage in the shadow completely.  Thanks also for the kind words.

Yes, Glenna, I must confess that on these restorations, I lean heavily toward the "detail orientated" side.  One might even say that I occasionally obsess.   If I'm working on a  4X6 or smaller, I have to slap myself once in awhile to remind myself that it's not a 16X20.   I feel the same way the rest of you do, I just want them to get their picture back as close to the way they remember it as possible. 

I also tell myself that these bait & switches (i.e. that can't possibly be the same photo I asked for) will at least build character, although at this point I feel that I've probably built more character than I'll ever be called upon to use.  But.....  all joking aside, I feel very lucky to be able to take a shot at this.  Thank you OPR for letting me in.

pat

Tess (Tassie D)

#7
Hi Pat. I had a look through the images from this family and I have 2 that show the ring. They are not really clear but it should give you an idea on it. I'm guessing these were taken at different ages. These are full size crops from the originals.



Tess Cameron
Distribution Coordinator
[email protected]

PatW

Thank you Tess!  That gives me something to go on.  I'll see what I can do.

pat

PatW

Ok,  here's where I am now.  I'm not completely happy with either the woman's hand or the brochure, but my eyes are starting to glaze over.  Any ideas?




pat

Tess (Tassie D)

Beautiful job Pat. :up: I cant see anything else that needs fixing. With the ring I'd probably just darken it a little.
Tess Cameron
Distribution Coordinator
[email protected]

glennab

Absolutely wonderful job, Pat.  I'm not sure I agree with Tess (sorry T.) about darkening the image.  They're in full sun, and there's obviously a haze off in the distance.  To me it looks nicely balanced.  Time for the trip home!

Bless,

GK
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. ~Albert Pine

(Photoshop CS5 /Mac Pro)

PatW

Thank you guys.  Glenna, I think Tess meant just the ring & now that I look at it, it does seem a little exaggerated. 

If this prints out ok, I'll send it in.   Then it's off to my next "Good Lord!  What was I thinking?" moment.

pat