Dave's Duotone Dream

[Barefoot]

In one of the other threads I mentioned a free PS action called Duotone Dream by a fellow named Dave Jaseck. Here’s a shot that the action was applied to. I didn’t use the default pantone that’s offered, but instead a lighter one from the available palate that appears in the second dialogue box that comes up after the action is started.

[Mad Aussie]

That looks great Barefoot. Much better than my house!

[Barefoot]

Well, kinda hard to take credit for something the action does, but thanks anyway.

Marko interviewed Kevin Kuboto and they talked at great length about actions in PS. It’s so simple and a great time saver. One or two clicks of a mouse, and you end up with an image that has multiple layers with any number of adjustments. It’s mind-blowing. One thing they didn’t talk about though was the creation and use of Droplets for the desktop. That’s another big time saver when using actions.

[Mad Aussie]

Well, kinda hard to take credit for something the action does, but thanks anyway.

Credit due. You had to take the photo and then had to have the foresight to realise the photo was suitable for this action.

[tomorrowstreasures]

Barefoot, can we see the original photo to compare?

[Barefoot]

Barefoot, can we see the original photo to compare?

Yeah, sure. I don’t mind showing the original. But, be warned! It’s not pretty.

You see, I was just cutting my teeth on a Nikon D60 when these shots were made. I was migrating from a Lumix FZ8 into the world of DSLR. Now, the FZ8 is a nifty little camera that offers full manual control, a set of custom features that puts many of the entry level DSLR’s to shame, and the ability to shoot RAW. I’m sorry, but I can’t join the camp with those that feel that compact digitals have no place in the photography learning curve for the simple reason that when I purchased that little FZ8 for a mere $300, the price of a Nikon D40 and a kit lens was almost $600 and the D60 hadn’t been released yet. By the time I felt comfortable with shooting in anything other than Program or Auto and was ready to move up, the price of that D40 had fallen to just over $400 and Nikon had released the D60.

I digress, but the moral of that little story is that at the rapid rate of change in technology, cameras improve and prices fall faster than we can keep up with. There’s nothing wrong with beginning with a compact digital and honing some basic skills before spending some big bucks on moving up to the next level. You’ll probably save some money and get a better camera to boot.

Now, back to that duotone image that TT wanted to see the original of. The Nikkor 55-200 VR lens that was used had just been purchased that very day with no time to practice before shooting the Pow Wow. Like a fool, I elected not to shoot RAW in order to not fill the camera’s buffer so quickly and allow me to capture more frames before having to wait for the camera to finish writing to the card. Not shooting RAW might not have been so bad had I taken the time to do a custom WB before hand, but I was in the auto WB setting and those blasted metal halide lamps that create that ugly orange color cast were what they used to light the arena that evening.

Those three factors nearly caused me to discard the three to four hundred images I shot that night. They were that bad. When converted to B&W, they improved a little but not enough to make me want to change my mind about dumping them. Then, I remembered the Duotone Dream action. Voila! Not only did the action save the images for me, but it also added a flavor of photography from days past that lent itself to the subject matter.

What did I learn from this? Two things; (1) try not to put yourself in a position to rely heavily on PP, and (2) ALWAYS shoot RAW.

Remember, now. I warned you that it’s not pretty.

[tomorrowstreasures]

what a huge transformation! thanks for sharing!