you have taught me something valuable....
Special effects are great...but they can actually make a somber subject- cheesy and take away from what you want your message to be. My version really did not come off as somber...just an old-timey look, as if "art" rather than a journalistic look at reality. Heart-felt thanks my kind teacher! Terri

Great work Phil and wonderful meaning Terri. I envision this more as a panoramic view and cropped as such...just my opinion obviously. The painted melancholy effect is great and leads the eye nicely towards the subject. Great tute also Phil...another that was needed!

Nice work Phil. Maybe a little lush for the subject, but very well done.

I am not seeing the advantage of this rework...subject remains lost among other stuff and i really cannot see an improvement...this is a CURRENT problem..adding a nostalgic effect and aging does not connote this ...i would rather see it in full color and the man on bench focused on--perhaps removing other objects would accomplish this as this IS the subject of the photo........

I know - thats why I did it originally in Infrared - and why both Terri and I discounted this sepia version for sending out the wrong message. this shot is here merely as a finished example of the Sepia & Ageing Effects tutorial I posted. the reasons for each post are clearly explained on both versions.

This shows me that there is so much more that I have to learn. There are so many ways to correct or alter images and those alterations give an entirely new look. Phil, you have done a great job here. Very creative of you!

Perhaps I am missing something.........would like to know ....as in Terri's image the man is much more visible and this is the essential part of the photo...in this rendering, he is far away and the foliage/coloring tecniques command the viewer's eye more............

The point of the recrop really was to emphasise the isolation of the man juxtaposed in relatively lush and beautiful surroundings. I removed the advertising rotunda and other various bits and pieces to further enhance this isolation and detachment. Even though the sepia tone isn’t appropriate for the subject matter it is lit to draw you into the centre of the shot and ultimately to the guy on the bench whereas the infrared rendition was a straight conversion from the colour original. I changed that as the colour version was even more overpowering with all the green foliage. Hope this explains it a little better for you.

(At last! Been here more than two years and finally managed to fit juxtaposed into a posting!)

Would a real street person take his shoes off and trust those around him? The man looks too comfortable in what shoud be a less hospitible setting.