Photoshopping Europe

Last Summer, Mindy and I worked twelve hour days, seven days a week, for six weeks. Then, with the last few weeks of our break, we spent all the money we earned on a three week European vacation. It was incredible for many reasons. We tasted food we had never experienced in the States. We saw statues and monuments we had previously only seen in books or movies. We explored museums and famous cities. It was an absolutely fascinating three weeks.

That was a year ago, and I've grown a great deal in my knowledge of what it means to take an effective photograph, and how to accomplish with a camera what I see in my mind. In that spirit, when I look back at some of the photos I captured on our trip, some of them leave a little something to be desired. Today, when I go out shooting, I would hope I could most of the look I want "in camera," but what am I to do with a photograph of the Arc de Triomphe taken a year ago with a slightly ineffective vision behind it. Well, I'm not going to be going back to try again in the next few years, so for now my solution is Photoshop.

Here is the original picture I captured a little more than a year ago today:

The sky is completely blown out, there is no foreground interest, and I think I would prefer a landscape orientation. So... Photoshop to the rescue. This second image is actually the exact same file as the first post Photoshop. Since there wasn't anything going on in the foreground anyway I just cropped it out and changed the photo to an 8x10 landscape orientation, which I think adds a feeling of size and strength to the Arc. Also, a black and white conversion not only accentuates the awesome textures in the photo, but also helps hide the bright colors of tourists’ clothing and create a more timeless look. Finally, (and this is a big cheat) I added clouds digitally. They just weren't there for the original and I couldn't leave such a large expanse of white sky just staring at me, could I? I don't like the idea of painting in clouds, but I do like the final product, so I guess I'll look the other way.