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San Diego County Fair color in a new way

Gondola ride with layers of pink.
I gave the swings in front of the ferris wheel a vintage feel.
I gave the swings in front of the ferris wheel a vintage feel.

Swings and Ferris Wheel “hand-colored”

The original images from the San Diego County fair were pretty flat so I had to look at it a new way with strong color being my favorite.  So I tried a painted black and white look on the swings.  This is based on the hand-colored black and white images photographers used before printing papers were readily available with dyes for true color.  Photoshop can recreate the look – of course!  While I like the resulting image, it was too soft and painterly for this subject.  The fair was a loud, crowded and pretty raucous place to visit, especially on the midway, so it seemed to need a more intense approach.  I increased the color saturation until the color popped and added dense grain.  This created a slightly gritty vintage look that suited the subject matter and I was happy with it.

Bright county fair color improved the mood of the ferris wheel image.
Bright county fair color improved the mood of the ferris wheel image.

Ferris Wheel and rides to purple

The next image I worked on was the ferris wheel.  Interesting shape and I liked the American flag, but it was flat with the grey sky.  At this point, I just started playing to find something different.  I intended initially to just color the sky, but I accidentally masked the background instead of the foreground.   I can never remember which is masked for some reason, which is easy to fix by just inverting the selection.  This put color over the subject which I really liked!  It muted the flag, but it is such a strong subject that still shines through the color.  So I combined my happy accident with the original bright color background for this electric color image.  I really liked the almost pop-art flatness and the sort of disco over-the-top-color.

I combined the bright color and the grain in the swings.
I combined the bright color and the grain in the swings.

Swings to pink

The next experiment in county fair color was the swings. It had strong lines, but the color was flat and the random bits behind the swings didn’t contribute to the composition.  Removing them was an option so I started to mask everything but the swing itself.  I didn’t remove the background items after laying color over them, liking the layered effect. The lines really come through and as a bonus, it emphasized the interactions of the people on the swings.

Gondola ride with layers of pink.
Gondola ride with layers of pink.

Gondola ride to pink

After the success of the swings, I used a similar approach for the gondola ride passing a large inflatable (not entirely sure what that thing was…).  I used split toning and layer blending for the different parts of the image.  By treating them differently, it made the foreground different than the mid-ground.  The color over the background created further separation.  I also liked the slight fringing in the people’s hair that made an interesting purplish halo.  And the banding of light to shadow on the inflatable made it look substantial, like a small mountain.

"<yoastmark

Green leaves on swing ride with flags

The next two images had less-clearly defined subjects so I couldn’t take the same approach.  I considered abandoning these two, especially since these were more difficult to mask.  The flags and chains had a very complex outline.  Stubbornly, I continue to play with different approaches.  I used various blend modes on different portions with a variety of grain and texture additions for the leafy ride with the flags.  This created a more subtle sense of depth with enough inherent crazy county fair color to hold its own against the saturated background.

Layers of discordant color around the Daytona driving ride are unified through amplifying the original county fair color story.
Layers of discordant color around the Daytona driving ride are unified through amplifying the original county fair color story.

Daytona ride

The Daytona ride also didn’t have enough sky to be separated from the background.  I thought about leaving the sky unedited, as there was enough color in the subject.  The out-of-focus background created a blurry edge which was quite tricky to mask.  I tried coloring the sky though and it was better.  I had to continue…  To separate the foreground from the mid-ground, I used different textures and blend modes.  The end result has been growing on me.

Spiral swing has altered county fair color, texture and patterns to capture the frenetic atmosphere of the day.
Spiral swing has altered county fair color, texture and patterns to capture the frenetic atmosphere of the day.

Spiral Swing

The last experiment almost didn’t happen.  I loved the image but, again, not the sky and just started playing with it.  Unfortunately, the deep depth of field meant a variety of focus levels.  So the sharper portions were easier to mask, the more out-of-focus quite a bit harder.  I almost gave up.  I ended up using overlays when I couldn’t get the masks as good as I wanted.  But I wanted to add the layers in the image and keep the exaggerated, augmented color.  So this image brought out my perfectionism and took a huge time investment.  I’m just glad I could finish it.

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Buda Palace views

Kids enthralled by the Buda Palace views from the plaza.
Kids enthralled by the Buda Palace views from the plaza.

Buda Palace Views

The kids were fascinated by the Buda Palace views of the Danube River from the hillside in the oldest part of Budapest.  This included anyone else visiting as well, some from around the world.  It was honestly hard to look away.  Most significantly, the river was beautiful and there were views of a variety of buildings from many eras.  An expert could’ve created an architectural history lesson easily from where we were standing.

We also had other great views such as the cafes down one terrace and the rest of the castle structure wrapped around the hill studded periodically with statues.  Part of this view included the Citadel at the peak of the hill. The funicular was just below like an up-hill train. We also saw a changing of the guard and several mounted groups ride by.  Parliament and St. Stephen’s Basilica were prominent on the Pest side of the river.

"<yoastmark

Variety in the Rebuilding

As we walked around Buda Palace, we entered a courtyard of the palace showing the layers of rebuilding over its history in the various materials.  This variety starts with the earliest, roughest Gothic stone, transitions to Renaissance brick, then baroque-style recent at the highest point.  Also, there are modern rust-textured metal stairs from the last few years.  It looked like there were several areas under construction adding even more new things to see in the future.

 

Buda Palace viewed in a "postcard" style.

Buda Palace viewed in a “postcard” style.

Postcard views

This is a postcard view of the palace from the Elizabeth Bridge.  It is a gorgeous walk across any of the bridges from the relatively “newer” Pest side to the older Buda side.  The views are of boats, historical buildings and hillsides on the Buda side of the city.  It is also wonderfully breezy down the river giving a break from the summer heat.

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Building the sand city

A view across the sand city we were constructing, to include one of our wall-building tools.
A view across the sand city we were constructing, to include one of our wall-building tools.

The sand city takes shape as we add layers of structures across the beachscape, incorporating shells, rocks and kelp to give it texture and interest.  The youngest builder is our main architect and holds the plan.  Once completed, the cat royalty would inhabit the tiny spaces, create their city and culture with a feline viewpoint and write their history in meowish language.  These are either cats who enjoy the beach, unlike most I have met, or perhaps they feel safe from the brilliant sun and wide open spaces, in their enclosing city spaces despite the bright sun.

One section of sand castle wall.
One section of sand castle wall.
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Buda Palace windows

Summer sky reflected in the windows of Buda Palace in Budapest, Hungar
Summer sky reflected in the windows of Buda Palace in Budapest, Hungar

These are just a few of the many baroque windows of Buda Palace.  There are  some gothic ones as well.  The palace was originated in the 13th century but was repeatedly built and torn down and the current version is a modernist reconstruction of the medieval and baroque periods.  As you may expect, this causes some architectural confusion but it does not detract from the overall sumptuous effect.  The views are amazing and the layers of history are fascinating.

Looking through the castle chapel, one of the few remaining remaining Gothic portions of the palace.
Looking through the castle chapel, one of the few remaining remaining Gothic portions of the palace.

While the whole castle district is apparently somewhat rebuilt, it remains full of atmosphere and beautiful to visit.   There are some shops, an art/souvenir market, Matthias Cathedral, the Fisherman’s Bastion a romantically designed fortress and a handful of restaurants.  And the view.  Sweeping across the city on both sides of the Danube River, studded with spires and filled with the variety of roof forms produced over the last several hundred years.

People enthralled by the city views from the plaza in front of Buda Palace.
People enthralled by the city views from the plaza in front of Buda Palace.

Budapest is busy with tourists and the castle area is very popular.  Everyone brought their cameras and took pictures of the views, each other and themselves.  I took many pictures also… it’s almost impossible not to.  It seems anywhere you look is a potential photo.

Tourists photographing the view, each other and themselves at the Buda Palace walls.
Tourists photographing the view, each other and themselves at the Buda Palace walls.