The Money Shot

WGH · « **on:** 6 Mar 2009, 12:25 am »

Once in a while you take a photo that you know will get you more work. I'm sure this one will show up in the architects portfolio too.

I just completed the mesquite veneered doors for the Casas Church Chapel in Tucson.
The camera used is a Canon G1 on a tripod with a bit of Paintshop Pro straightening and sharpened using KTP Equalizer.

Since I do woodworking professionally, this is my money shot.

What works for you?

Wayne

drphoto · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 12:52 am »

Wayne, hope you don't mind, I played around w/ your image a bit. Nice work. Wish I could afford to hire you do some projects for me....maybe when I get out of pharm school.

I made it more symmetric and played w/ the tones a bit.

drphoto · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 12:54 am »

Dunno know why it came displays so small, I didn't mess w/ the image size. I'm not really very web savvy. I've been screwing around w/ my site for over a year and still haven't put it up.

WGH · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 01:02 am »

Quote from: drphoto on 6 Mar 2009, 12:52 am

Wayne, hope you don't mind, I played around w/ your image a bit. Nice work. Wish I could afford to hire you do some projects for me....maybe when I get out of pharm school.

I made it more symmetric and played w/ the tones a bit.

That looks good too. I am much better at woodworking than photography or Photoshopping images.

nathanm · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 02:02 am »

If I had a beautiful door like the ones WGH makes that I wouldn't even mind if it hit me on the ass on the way out.

maxwalrath · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 02:04 am »

Yeah, no kidding Nathan....can't wait to custom order doors one day!

markC · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 03:41 am »

Never mind doors. how about speakers???

Cacophonix · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 03:48 am »

Reposting the image re-done by drphoto ..

WGH · « **Reply #8 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 04:09 am »

Now that's dramatic! Thanks.

markC - I haven't made speakers for a long time, they are certainly a labor of love. No way could I ever make a living making them, but I do modify the speakers I have owned by adding custom internal bracing. That said, mesquite speakers would be one-of-a-kind. The wood is hard and dense so the cabinets would hardly resonate.

Wayne

drphoto · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 04:10 am »

Thanks for reposting the image.

nathanm · « **Reply #10 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 07:35 am »

Oh yeah?

I see your crop 'n curves and raise you one barrel distortion fix, artificial sky color adjust and glow, door glare tweak plus Lightroom tonal adjustment and crop! Yes, I'm bored, what of it?

BillB · « **Reply #11 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 12:40 pm »

Great one there Nathan, looks 3D.

killer door too!

WGH · « **Reply #12 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 04:28 pm »

Quote from: nathanm on 6 Mar 2009, 07:35 am

Oh yeah? I see your crop 'n curves and raise you one barrel distortion fix, artificial sky color adjust and glow, door glare tweak plus Lightroom tonal adjustment and crop! Yes, I'm bored, what of it?

Great job Nathan. How did you get rid of the door glare? I have a closeup photo of the same door with glare I would like to fix.
Careful with the barrel distortion fix. The original photo is correct, the front of the building is curved.

Still bored? How would you like to work on the original tiff? We could do a trade or something for your time.
The file is too big to email so I put it on my server.
I need to have a copy of the modified tiff so I have a large file for publications, every few years a magazine does an article about me.
Send a PM if interested.

Wayne

nathanm · « **Reply #13 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 06:24 pm »

Ahh, I was afraid of that. I did suspect the building might be curved, but I figured straight is usually the standard when it comes to most architecture. It does look like a lens thing, though. I still have to say I like it "fixed" rather than reality because the curve is so subtle.

To even out the door I drew a slightly feathered selection around it, floated it above the base layer in Multiply mode, made a gradient mask from top to bottom and then adjusted the opacity of the Multiply layer until the brightness of the top and bottom of the door evened out. A polarizing filter on the lens is also useful for knocking down glare (unless of course the wood is supposed to appear glossy and slick looking) when shooting but of course these things can be fine tuned in Photoshop.

A trade, eh? I know, you can redo the doorway on my apartment! The landlord recently had somebody replace the doors and when the first winter storm came, they cried like a little girl. There was literally a pile of snow on either side of the door jamb and you could feel a nice cold draft whizzing in from about 10 feet away. Sheesh! Of course, if you did that job it would be the single most valuable object in the entire joint! Like putting a Ferrari engine in a Ford Escort or something. Heh!

nathanm · « **Reply #14 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 07:28 pm »

Okay I did another version. I will PM you the high res files, Wayne. Thanks!

WGH · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 09:29 pm »

Thanks again Nathan, I downloaded the high res file and just sent the architect an email he has a large .tif of the entry waiting on my server.
I try to keep my big clients happy, and Seaver/Franks are very big.

Wayne

mcullinan · « **Reply #16 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 09:33 pm »

Sweet door. You do great work! I wish I could afford it..
Peace.
Mike

WGH · « **Reply #17 on:** 6 Mar 2009, 09:48 pm »

Quote from: mcullinan on 6 Mar 2009, 09:33 pm

Sweet door. You do great work! I wish I could afford it..
Peace.
Mike

Me too, not to many inquiries are coming in these days.
I have been working for 2 years without a break so I am enjoying the brief period when I don't have to work and bid out jobs every day.

WerTicus · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Mar 2009, 03:29 pm »

Image is very yellow, in my opinion, here is my colours tweak:

WGH · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Mar 2009, 09:50 pm »

Quote from: WerTicus on 15 Mar 2009, 03:29 pm

Image is very yellow, in my opinion, here is my colours tweak:

That is nice too, kind of a sunset look.
I could change the photos on my website based on the time of day and see if anyone catches on.