Exercise: Interpretive processing.

Outline: Choose an image that you feel is open to creative interpretation(s) and find different ways to interpret the image.

I recently took some sunset images on the coast and decided to use one for this exercise.

Original Jpeg image

This is the original image. I decided to use the jpeg image for this as opposed to the raw version just to play around with the image without over thinking it, which I admit that I do tend to do sometimes when undertaking some exercises.

My first thought was to try and enhance the colour of the sky and make it more orangey and less blue. I decreased the hue and increased the saturation which did just that. The sky became more orange/pink. I adjusted the layers slightly which gave the sky more darker tones and then darkened the highlights which created more definition in the clouds and by increasing the mid-tones these were emphasized.

This is the final processed image:

Enhanced colouring image

I think the colours are enhanced very well and the image is a lot more clear and vibrant than the original image. I was tempted to decrease the brightness to tone down the overexposure on the sun, but this just dulled the overall image down so I decided the overexposed version fitted better.

For the next interpretation, I wanted to try and make the sky dark and almost night-like. After decreasing the saturation to turn the image to black and white,  I adjusted the levels to use the whole range of tones available. I then darkened the highlights and the mid-tone contrast to create texture and definition in the sky and clouds. Finally, I decreased the brightness and increased the contrast and the final outcome was a very fierce looking sky.

Fierce sky processed image

I really like the outcome of this image and it does look quite scary. The sun could easily be mistaken for the moon and the lack of colour really takes away and evidence that this is a sunset at all.

For my final interpretation, I just wanted to see what the software had to offer. I kept the image the same and decided to use the lomo camera effect available. This turned the image onto cross process which is one of my favourite effects. It's given the sky a full range of colour, from red at the horizon to orange to yellow to green then to blue at the top. I also added the vignette but wanted to really focus in on the sun to emphasize the main subject, so increased the vignette to make a very obvious circle.

Lomo camera effect processed image

The vignette really makes this image, the circle emphasizing the circle of the sun. Although the range of colour in the sunset is beautiful, it's almost unrealistic and still seems rather dull.

Conclusion:
Of all of the images, the first interpretation is my favourite purely for the vibrancy of it. The biggest change has got to be the second fierce sky image. This shows the dramatic effect you can create in, comparison the original. The exercise has been interesting. Playing about with the sliders and the different aspects of the image is a great way to learn which aspect change what feature.