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Photoshop Gradient Tool: Blending Images
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2 Photoshop Gradient Tool: Blending Images
For this tutorial I've provided moderate-resolution JPEGs of both images you see below so that you can follow along each step of the way. Simply right-click on each to save it to your computer. Throughout the tutorial I'll refer to the image with the foreground homestead as Photo 1 and the image of the dramatic clouds as Photo 2.
|Photo 1
|Photo 2
These JPEGs are derived from Raw files which I edited so the overall contrast looked good and the color of the two skies was compatible. You'll want similar flexibility when you try this technique on your own images as well, so I highly recommend using Raw files as the basis for any composite work.
Step 1
Bring the two images together as layers in a single file, with Photo 1 on the bottom and Photo 2 on top. An easy way to do this is to open both images in Photoshop in adjacent windows. Select the Move tool and, while holding the Shift key, click-drag Photo 2 onto Photo 1. Tip: Holding the Shift key until after you release the mouse will center align the image you're dragging.
Reduce the layer opacity of Photo 2 (here I chose 74%). Use the Move tool to adjust Photo 2 up and down to see how the two images look in relationship to each other. Once the alignment looks good (no mountains in the sky, and the clouds working together nicely), restore the opacity of the Photo 2 layer back to 100%.
|Here the two layers are being aligned, with the opacity of the top layer reduced to 74%, so that Photo 2 can be seen as a semi-transparent overlay atop the bottom layer. This allows you to position it properly.
Step 2
With the Photo 2 layer selected, add a layer mask to it by going to Layer>LayerMask>Reveal All. The resulting layer mask will be filled with white.
|A layer mask has been added to the top layer. Because the entire mask is white, the Photo 2 layer is still completely visible.
Step 3
If you've used brushes in masks before, using the Gradient tool follows the same idea. First, select the Gradient tool (keyboard shortcut: G) and in the Control panel set it to the Black, White option (see below). If you've skipped the first page of this article and jumped straight to Step 1, make sure you've read my earlier explanation of the Gradient tool.
|Choosing the Black, White option (circled above) means that any gradient you draw on a layer mask will first hide, then reveal the contents of the attached layer.
With the Photo 2 layer active (meaning it's highlighted in blue), click-drag in the canvas, from above the house towards the top of the image. This will create a black-to-white gradient inside the mask. Since in a mask, black conceals and white reveals, the bottom of Photo 2 will be hidden and the top will remain visible.
I applied the gradient several times, at slightly different angles, dragging a bit further or a bit less until I created just the right gradient in the Mask. This is something you'll want to experiment with yourself over several attempts. Keep in mind, however, that gradients on a single layer are not cumulative. Drawing a new gradient immediately replaces the previous one.
|After the gradient is drawn on the layer mask, the bottom region of Photo 2 (the layer on top), becomes invisible, seamlessly blending with the Photo 1 layer beneath it.
The great thing about using the Gradient tool is that the transition is smooth and gradual. Why? Because the gradient is not only applying black and white areas to the layer mask. It also introduces shades of gray in-between them to feather the blend. Gray values partially hide or reveal areas, allowing for a natural, subtle transition between the two layers.
Of course, I could have used selections for this job, or brushes, but a Linear Gradient is the perfect tool to mask a more interesting sky onto a great foreground. In fact, Linear and Radial Gradients mimic the makeshift cardboard tools we used for burning & dodging in traditional, chemical black-and-white darkrooms; they provide feathered, believable transitions – especially effective when used in Masks.
And with just three simple steps you can create a seamless blend like you see below. Spend just a little time practicing with the Gradient tool and you'll have a fast, easy technique for making composite images.
|Here's our 'combination-print' landscape, before and after.
This is the first of a two-part tutorial so stay tuned for Part 2. We'll do the 'darkroom' work this picture needs using the gradient tool with Adjustment Layers – and explore some of the Gradient tool's advanced features.
Jean Miele has been digitally editing images for over 15 years. A working commercial photographer and highly sought after Photoshop instructor, his fine art images and workshop schedule can be seen at jeanmiele.com. You can also follow him on Facebook.
Thank you. This technique is new to me. I can't wait to try it on my own images now.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This has saved me sooo much time and is a technique I will use for all my skies now, you're a diamond! :)
Wow! This works in PSE 11 but the interface is different... managed to get it to work anyhow. Great stuff for a neophyte.
For tests with the blending modes, feel free to use this file:
It's a .psd, open source :) You can modify it anyway you want...
I still do not think combining two or more pictures into one is a good photography principle and practice to follow or encourage.
Why does the author involve blending two pictures into one with the gradient tool. The gradient tool can be used without. I just do not see the point.
Combining two pictures has nothing to do with photography. So it can't be a bad photographic principle. It is postproduction, faking, enhancing, shaping reality.
Image manipulation helps telling the story. It is creativity, NOT photography. A painter does't wait for the perfect sky to come by. He makes one up. He is an artist.
The sky-replacement has nothing to do with photography. Any use of gradients (using photoshop) hurts all photographic principles that you can make up. Photography ends as soon as the shutter closes. Everything after (and a LOT before) is pure manipulation.
In some situations postproduction should be avoided or used with care (news etc.). That is my PERSONAL principle and has nothing to do with photography.
I this article I fail to see any problem regarding image manipulation. The image greatly improved.
The article is well written and will help readers (artists) to further improve the story they want to share with the rest of the world.
That is the point.
I agree with AndreNL. I am sick of all those people keep saying what CJ Lan says above. Why do professional photographers buy more expensive cameras? Because they "produce" better photos! Period. If I can't afford a high price Pro Nikon or Canon camera to give me high dynamic range, why can't I use a another method to produce the same effect?
Thank you for a very informative tutorial, clearly and simply explained.
I got this to work in PaintshopPro x5 with a little help from this tutorial:
Woo hoo! First time I've ever used a mask or a gradient!
Thank you Jean Miele for this splendid article. You make me hungry for some more. When can we expect
"In an upcoming article we'll explore how to use the Gradient tool to modify layer mask-enabled adjustments to brightness, contrast and toning"
Thank you so much for acknowledging that making a really convincing mask for sky replacement is not fast or easy. This is an excellent tutorial, made even better by your honesty about the tedious alternative.
Light in two pictures above comes from a totally different angle.
But who really cares about that? :)
Many thanks Jean - looking forward to part 2!
Really good, indeed. Thank you.
What do Diamond Gradients serve for? To draw diamonds, I suppose... :)
Very nice tutorial, thanks a lot Jean! It worked great with Gimp as well, using the same technique. Also, I've noticed I had to horizontally flip the sky so the shadows of the beams of the house go the same way as the rays of the sun.
Thank you Jean for your useful example of using gradients in a mask. This is an easy method to deal with a common problem.
I preferred the original sky though. What I did was to duplicate the original background layer and then use the Multiply blending mode. This was a little too much so I reduced the opacity to around 65%. Then I used your straightforward example to add a mask with a gradient. For the gradient I reduced the opacity to 30% and applied gradients several times to mask the grass and cabin as well as the clouds on the upper left partially. Then I added an adjustment layer to saturate the dry grass and cabin in the foreground. In the mask for this adjustment layer I used your method again to mask the sky from the top down to just allow the cabin to get saturated. This was way better than using selections or painting in a mask. Thanks again.
You are very welcome, Martin45. Thank you. It's fantastic that you were able to integrate using a Gradient in a mask; that was my goal in creating the tutorial. And your "variation on a theme" sounds just great. Jazz improv, right? ; )
Improving photographs working on levels, curves, contrast, saturation, filters, lights, shadows, gamma, as well as using HDR techniques, photo stacking, etc.., is deontologically appreciable, because the final result, however, isn't a fake: only a picture improved.
Techniques such as the one here illustrated, however, leave me puzzled because goes beyond the Photography and entering the creative montage. Which often has a great artistic value.
But that's not Photography.
says who?
Ciao, Giuseppe. Thanks for commenting. You're not the first one in this thread to say "that's not photography" or some variation on that theme. Personally, I think "photography" is a BIG word. I doubt Sir John Herschel could have imagined that the term would grow to encompass such a vast range of uses, processes, media and intentions when he popularized it in 1839. From the beginning, our beloved "painting with light" was diverse and ever changing, and has grown into a spectrum that spans art, documentary, family snapshots, advertising, pornography, scientific research, and a thousand gradations and variations between. It includes nearly a hundred distinct photographic processes (so far!), ranging from daguerreotype to Hipstamatic, and is presented on an impossibly wide array of media and substrates, including glass, metal, paper, and LCD, to name just a few. *more below*
If photomontage isn't a part of photography, that's bad news for me, and a bunch of other people. Pretty sure Jerry N. Uelsmann (as Amadou mentioned earlier) is a photographer. Not to mention Carleton Watkins, Gustave LeGray, Henry Peach Robinson… and W. Eugene Smith. Smith, unarguably one of the icons of photojournalism, wasn't above creating the occasional photomontage, as evidenced in this recent NY Times Lens blog entry: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/w-eugene-smith-i-didnt-write-the-rules-why-should-i-follow-them/
The way I see it, we all love photography, and there's room in that word for all of us, regardless of the kinds of pictures we like to make.
Thank You so much Jean for the fantastic article .
And all you " anti-photoshop talibans",what about all great wildlife photographers,no fakes at all,or the great guys at Magnum for long,long time ago.like Robert Doisneau with his legendary "Kiss by the Hotel de Ville"; fake or not?
When humans or animals are directed and manipulated by the photographer,is the result then just a poor fake ?
Do not get me wrong.
I assumed that creative manipulation has a great artistic value, often even more than in documentary photography.
But it's another thing.
It's therefore necessary to understand what we are talking about: creativity or photojournalism?
In the first case it's ethically permissible to use any tool. No limit.
In the second case, It's ethically allowed the use of calibration tools, but not "manipulation".
It was discovered that some photographers, trying to emphasize the famous tsunami a few years ago, have created photomontages using pieces of Niagara Falls.
This is unethical.
The newspapers, now more than ever, in the digital age, they are very strict in this respect.
- continue from -
And I do not mean just photojournalism social or war reportages. Even the landscape photos are discarded without hesitation by newspapers such as National Geographic, if counterfeit beyond what is a simple calibration.
The case of the legendary Robert Doisneau photo "Kiss by the Hotel de Ville" is completely different. We discuss it if the kissing couple is casually on site, or it's a couple in a pose. But even in the latter case, technically, no question of a montage.
Infact, one thing is to create a scene or a situation. Another thing is to remove people with rubber ...
Jean, It's obvious that my comments were related to the purposes of the technique, not to the the "technique itself". Your tutorial is a masterpiece and I will be the first to use it!
Heck, back in the fifties we took the two negatives and printed what we wanted out of the first negative, and then added the sky from the second negative. You probably had to make maybe a half a dozen prints before you got a good one. But that's the way we did it back then and no one griped.
Also way back beffore they had panchromatic film we used orthochromatic film that was color blind Practically insensitive to red - NOT BLUE.
Is there anyway to add this to my favorites or bookmark this article within DPR? I don't have time to read the whole thing but am very interested in the subject, since I needed to learn how to do this months ago!
Sure, aja2. There are a few possibilities. I use both Evernote and Instapaper to save things for later reading. (There are also many other services like these.) Another possibility is to simply "print" the browser page as a PDF, and save it to your hard drive. Whichever method you choose, you'll need to save page 1 and page 2 of the article individually. Glad you found it helpful enough to want to refer to it again : )
Just had to laugh at the many, many pompous comments about PS being a cheat, or about how many "better" ways this could be done. I remember when these same pompous jerks used to work at camera shops, making beginners walk out, enthusiasts feel stupid...Now most of those shops are out of business. Wonder why?
The reason camera shops went out of business was that people had no reason to keep going to camera shops. When was the last time you needed a roll of film, spare (disposable) batteries, a photo album and to pick your prints? And don't forget the stop bath and a spare bulb for your slide projector.
Many thanks for a very helpful and informative article.
Thank you for explaining the basics of gradients used with masked layers...it is always helpful to see these techniques explained in simple terms using sample images this way.
I know more than a few people who I see and hear complaining about Photoshop - who are folks who have not embraced it and therefore, cannot use it to its full advantage. Back in the times when Photoshop didn't really exist and everybody's photos were based on how well they came out of the camera, these guys were kings. Now with post processing and other tools, they have lost that status somewhat. 3 photos layered into 1 to produce a shot that looks better than the single frame. Lets compare.
The guy doing the layered piece of art is making something that looks better (perhaps?), and still requires a camera to create it. Making great images is a lot of fun. Not much complaining from this guy.
The guys doing the single frame shots that I'm referring to get to prattle on about how bad Photoshop is and how if there was a contest like the old days when you had to use a camera and not Photoshop, they'd still be the best.
Steve, your comment puts me in mind of responses encountered in my camera club, and always from old school members with limited computer skills.
One factor has to be intended end use of 'created' images, and if for competition use, if the rules allow radical image manipulation, then a person disadvantages themselves if they refuse to encompass that option in their images.
The PSNZ (Photographic Society on New Zealand) uses this flickr stream to host winning exhibition and salon entries, and the images show a slight predominance of heavy Photoshop use, but there are still enough straight photographs to satisfy the conservative shooter.
Our professional body the NZIPP shows an even greater percentage of heavily manipulated images in its annual Iris Awards
It seems to me that you ignore these image manipulation tools at your peril!
Quite a bit of narrow minded thinking from people who feel that their way is the only way to be a photographer.
Really, I think the biggest issue at play is EGO. Thats a hard thing for people to admit to. The point of photography? I always thought it was to create images. A camera records reality the way a camera sees reality. Not the way it really is. We override the camera in such a way that the camera produces things closer to OUR vision. How is that different than Photoshop?
You can use white balance on board the camera to produce a total lie as easily as a layer mask can.
I do not condone dishonesty in image making; I do condone interpretation and artistic license. It seems that there are too many ego driven people stuck on the idea that the best image makers are the ones who can do the best using just a camera. The point of this game is to make great images, right?. Why limit yourself to just a camera in the art-making process? When so much more is out there to use?
Jean Miele is a great photographer known for highly artistic images. So, I would know to look at this with some suspicion of license. Personally I draw the line on composites. Composites compromise the power of photography, shifting the emphasis from a photographer's reaction to the subject to mere artistry. As for the subject example? The final may be marginally better than the original graphically, but in terms of meaning it adds nothing. In fact, knowing it a composite of separate scenes diminishes the image.
I agree that there is a certain purity of viewing experience when we know that a photographer caught a special confluence of elements and did not alter reality. If this is the type of photography you most admire, enjoy! However, to disparage other types of approaches, in this case composites, and sniff that such are, as you bizarrely state, "mere artistry," paints you as pompous, rather than embracing. Photography appeals to so many because it is offers so many ways of expressing oneself. Embracing some does not require us to belittle others!
Yes, I enjoy a "confluence of elements". I also enjoy abstract photography and accept some well done composites in that realm. I have no problem with composites for advertisements, illustrations, or art, but almost all have absolutely no place in photography that includes documentary intent. It is important that general perceptions are considered. Viewers in general are very receptive to photographic illusions, abstractions, exaggerations, etc created in an artful way. Viewers even tolerate outright manipulation when it makes a point, or when it is meaningless. But show somebody a photo of something they care about and you better watch out! You better be sensitive and not twist it to meet your ego. Or you won't be trusted.
One of the best uses of layer masks is selectively combining different exposures of the same scene to achieve a natural looking HDR image, without the overblown look of HDR software and tone mapping.
If done proerly, HDR can yield pefectly natural results. And an image properly tonemapped for a natural look appear more natural than an image pieced together in layers.
It's a matter of skill, and a matter of intent. And very much a matter of opinion.
There are times to strive for a natural look and a time for a more surrealistic look. This has been true not only as long as photography has been around, but as long as art in any form has been around!
Unskilled artists tend to be a bit heavy handed when applying special effects. But in the right hands, heavily tone mapped images may bring a beauty and interest to a scene that would otherwise be dull and boring. It takes as much skill to apply a heavy special effect without over doing it as it does to apply the effect to make it appear natural.
I revisited some of the images I had pieced together from bracketed shots and layers, and tonemapped them in HDR. They look more natural via HDRI than through layers.
You can't possibly make that statement and maintain credibility. You might have admired any number of pictures without realising they were tone-mapped. One of the biggest problems with HDR is that the worst examples are the easiest to spot. Apps like Photomatix have advanced enormously over the years, and it is much easier to photorealistic HDR nowadays - even if you are not very good at it.
The more Photoshop you use the less photographer you are... I use Photoshop only for creativity and extreme problems. I still use Capture NX for 99% of my photos.
It's sad to reach a point when you don't know if it is a photograph anymore...
That sounds very much like what they were saying about Eduard Steichen 115 years ago!
The painters said it wasn't art and the photographers said it wasn't photography.
Your opinion on Photoshop simply defines how you prefer to approach photography and is not an accurate description of all photographers.
Long before digital photography existed, we used to say that clicking the shutter is only the start of the photographic process. There's alot that takes place after the exposure is made that must be done for the photographers vision to be realized.
I could argue that if all one is doing is making a few tweaks in tone and color, that it's really no different than a snapshooter who drops the film off at the minilab and lets someone else finish the process. That would be an inaccurate statement but no less accurate than saying that using more photoshop makes one less a photographer.
Photography is a two step process, one is what happens before you take the shot, and one after.
I started life as a photographer in 1965 and have been cheating ever since.hot water on part of a B+W print to bring up detail,a dab of fix to stop development in one spot,shading,printing from multiple negatives.
I love what Photoshop lets me achieve.I no longer worry about how to prop something up in the studio,blemishes on products can be removed etc.
Photoshop is the perfect tool to compliment digital images.
Why not invert from left to right (mirror) the dark sky image, so that it works with the direction of the shadows on the structure? The main problem I see with this, is that to me, it is not a believable composite, because first, the building is so bright it looks like it's in broad daylight, but there's this dark sky over it, and second, the point where the skies may be lightening up is on the left, while the shadows imply a light source from the right.
I understand it's just an example and the point of the article is otherwise, but I feel that while we're on the topic of making "believable" composites, light source, light intensity and contrast, and direction of shadows still have to be all taken into account, to make it work. And this is part of the job with such an undertaking.
Feel free to download the jpegs from page 2, and try it yourself. That's why we're providing the practice images :-)
The original dramatic sky is great, too. Leave it alone, as well. ;) No big foreground focal point is required other than the gentle arid nodule already there.
If this was all just a hypothetical test, fine. But I hope people don't over-think their original visions/moments, which is the heart of photography.
I haven't scrolled through all the comments below, but the combined photo is a bit silly-looking, because the sun is now behind the dark clouds (as evidenced by the original foreground), yet we still have the strong-lined shadows on the building from the original sun high and to the right.
The homestead's original sky is great. Leave it alone.
Over-processing turns a photo into a painting or at least 'photo art'. Label it as such.
Thank you so much for sharing, nicely explained. Hope you will be posting some more.
Photoshop Elements has an excellent youtube channel to help the elements user accomplish almost anything the program is capable of doing. Excellent article though helping me expand my knowledge of a seemingly endless learning process with Photoshop. I do what makes me and the customer happy and that is all that counts in my photography, everybody is an artist in their own way
Who says "blending images is a sin"???
Light up the darkroom: since the first 'camera oscura' to paint with perspective, even before, painting the walls inside a cavern, man are "cheating" "the real world" again and again...
A good article. There will always be various ways to achieve better results; explaining the technique was the point.
And 'cheating'? Even purist photographers are never able to fully represent reality. Would that mean everyone 'cheats'?
In camera we: crop, rotate, use focal length, DOF, compression, distortion, shutter speed, expression, props, shadows, viewpoint, film, exposure, blockers, lighting, reflectors, masks, filters, etc.
In the darkroom we: dodge, burn, mask, filter, diffuse, solarize, graduate, spot, colour balance, vignette, bleach, and even do composites (you know, a house and a different sky) by multiple exposures and sandwiching negatives.
In Photoshop we: do all of the above and more.
All the above distort what is reality. Am I to believe that those 'photographers' here who accuse people of 'cheating' do none of the above?
Photography - Painting with light - You do not have to like what is created, but love that we have the ability and freedom to create...
Have you actually ever tried doing composites in the darkroom?
I don't think you have. Because you'll know how bl00dy hard it is and how much skill it takes to do it successfully. And it's usually a one-off. You can't repeat exactly what you have done previously..
In Photoshop its click, click, click, drag, drop, click, click, click. Done. In minutes. In the darkroom you can work for MUCH longer than that.
You say in the camera we... In the darkroom we.. Yeah, sure, but those things actually exist. You are confined by physical and chemical realities. Not so in your fake photoshopped world.
Have you tried, say, removing that small annoying seagull that just happen you fly into your shot ruining your sky. On a colour RA4 print it's impossible (apart from actually 'airbrushing' over it). In a B&W silver gelatine print, well, give it a go! All you digital freaks get off your ar5e and give it a go with a real B&W print.
Photoshopography: Painting with pixels that don't exist!
Hi there Wye,
Your opinions are strong. It is good to find someone with such passion, and nothing wrong with it, especially if it really is what you believe. I looked at your website too, and I have to say you have some wonderful photos.
I especially noted your section that included, "Photos of Wales taken on the iPhone 4S and processed on the iPad2."...
I guess you don't mind heavily processed photos afterall, but maybe only if done on an iPhone...? But I must say, a bit of a disappointment after you showed such passion against such things...
"Have you tried, say, removing that small annoying seagull that just happen you fly into your shot ruining your sky. On a colour RA4 print it's impossible (apart from actually 'airbrushing' over it). In a B&W silver gelatine print, well, give it a go! All you digital freaks get off your ar5e and give it a go with a real B&W print. "
That's actually patently false, as part of my film photography classes was exactly replicating digital darkroom techniques in an actual darkroom - and yeah, we did actually remove stuff and composite photographs, both B&W and RA4 through frame splicing and clever use of masks. Is it easy? Nope. But it's doable - and, furthermore, people have been doing these very things since forever.
To Easycass
Thank you for your comments. My iPhone 'stuff' is peculiar and exclusive to the iPhone. I do enjoy working with the iPhone and iPad and do it in such a way as to make it obvious that the images have been modified. It's fun and a tonic for the jaded. It's blatant iPhoneography as they call it. I would NEVER pass it off as 'authentic', not that I possibly can. As the iphone 'work' is in its own pigeon hole, I may remove that gallery. Is it really 'photography'?
I don''t actually mind people modifying images, making panoramas, montages, blends, composites etc. IF they make it clear that this is the case. My whole point is passing such work off as an original one frame shot when in actuality it isn't.
That, my friend, is my whole issue.
I totally respect people who say things like "this image is a composite made from three frames" or "I removed...", "Changed..."
It is a question of honesty and integrity.
To AluKd
If I wasn't in such a hurry I would have chosen better words. I should have said "largely impossible", for some workers, it is because they can't achieve the level of skill required.
Tell me, removing said hypothetical seagull from an 10x8 inch RA4 print, how long? Chances of success on first go? How much space and equipment required? How much time would you have to put in to pull it off convincingly?
I can teach one of the office girls (most of whom do not like IT) where I work to remove said seagull from a .jpg in 15minutes maximum.
As you say, it's doable, but with what kind of skill and effort?
Before digital, Newspapers had teams of guys who whose sole job it was to touch-up photographs from film. Airbrushing was an art using real airbrushes not the photoshop tool. They were highly skilled people made redundant by a bit of software that anybody can use.
Photoshop can do much, much more, much quicker, with much less skill. You have never had it so good (or bad)!
@Wye Photography:
Sounds to me like you're mixing two different things in your rather passionate posts, so:
What is your issue? "Authenticity" or "too easy in Photoshop these days"?
I don't care if the seagull's removed in Photoshop, or if it's removed on a "real" print. The later takes longer & more skill, but the result will be the same: seagull removed.
As for authenticity: there is no such thing. Take, for example, Robert Capa's "Death of a Loyalist Soldier". People still argue today whether the image was staged or not.
PS: Keep your iPhone pictures up. They're nice – and after, all iPhone photos ARE "photography", which is "painting with light" in a black light-tight box. Doesn't matter if it's film or a sensor involved ;)
You're whining because a faster, more accurate procedure has supplanted the darkroom where results were difficult to achieve and hit and miss?
You have no idea how to use Photoshop and like most of the old duffers on here are reacting out of fear of what you don't understand.
Click, click, click. indeed.
Sorry laddie, but I have been using photoshop PROFESSIONALLY as a Graphic Designer since version 2.5 Currently I run CS5.5
Old duffer eh! Well, this one being ex-Army is probably more fit than your are.
I think when this computer/gadget fetish runs it's course people will want to return to a simpler, unfiltered, humble way of making images.
You rely on a plethora of software engineers and programmers for your images. I don't. When I think about it, you don't actually make your images, Abobe's code-heads do.
My issue is expressed in my comment above yours (I hope it was clear). The ease of it doesn't bother me per se, I was making the comparison that in the 'old days' faking, composites etc took really skill and a lot of hard work. Photoshop isn't hard work, it's easy.
Perhaps I have been using PS for too long. I went through all the stuff like I see and read here. There comes a point when you become sick of it all. Sick of all the computer generated un-reality. Perhaps you'll come to that point one day.
Like you, once I didn't care how the seagull was removed. Now I do. I suppose I've around digital media too long.
For me, authenticity is important, as is honesty, integrity and being genuine. Personally, I think Capa staged it, Alexander Rodchenko faked it a lot. That's not genuine. It's lying. Some people are like that. I am not.
Thanks for your comment about my iPhone pictures. I don't know where that sits with me yet. I'll take your comments aboard. Take care.
That's true. I could build my own camera though, it's not that hard. I have given it some thought actually. Building my own camera one day. I have already mixed my own developer, made Cyanotypes, that's a little start.
I like to see you write your own version of Photoshop! LOL.
Hello again Wye,
I do understand your desire for a personal authenticity, but as you say, I think as long as people do not try to pass any modified image as something it is not, then we are happy.
Believe it or not, I am with you, and prefer unaltered images as much as possible. I used to think the only image that came close to be straight fromn the camera at least, was a positive slide, no printing, no cropping, only the film, ASA, aperture and shutter to get it right. I do allow myself a bit more latitude these days... Though sometimes I still can't bring myself to straighten a horizon in PS!
But I guess I have learned to appreciate there are many forms of photography these days, many ways to poduce 'the image', and so long as 'it works', I try not to judge 'how' they made it work...
I too think you should keep the iPhone shots on your website. I really liked them. Whether they are photo-like or painterly, for me it only mattered that I enjoyed looking at them...
To Easycass and AluKd
Many thanks for your comments, I appreciate them.
It will be very interesting to see how the technology, software and the direction photography takes actually pans out in the next five or so years.
AluKd, when I said 'build my own camera', I did actually mean a film camera (I do shoot film, and more recently). If you feel so inclined, please send me details of your self-made-camera, I will be very interested in that.
May your Light always be wonderful!
@Wye Photography,
I'm still a little confused... The first paragraph in your last reply to my post is contraticting in itself I think. ("The ease doesn't bother me..." <--> "Photoshop is easy").
Anyway... more importantly, about the seagull being removed: I hear what you're saying, but my point is: apart from your very own photographs you'll never know if there was a seagull in the first place – both with analogue or digital.
Personally, I keep retouching to a minimum: colours, contrast, maybe a little d&b. All those things could also be done in the analogue world (I used to work as a C-Type printer): different film stock (Kodak Portra vs Agfa Ultra for example), printing on different papers (Fuji negs on Kodak paper or vice versa),...
So, unless I took the image myself and/or porcessed it myself, I'll never be able to tell if it has been manipulated – and besides that: manipulation starts with focal length, camera position and angle, and the moment we press the shutter.
I bought a fish yesterday. So i'm a fisherman, the expert one who can take any fish he wants!
I'm not a photographer and i don't say it's cheating. But i prefer to differentiate Editing and Designing from Photographing.
Thanks for useful article. It can help my terrible photos seem better.
A well-written and helpful tutorial on how to use the gradient tool, but I agree with the comment that for the images used, that tool might not be the best choice. Here, it might be simpler to paint the mask with a 100%-opaque black brush in most of the area above the subject of photo 1. The only area requiring something less than 100% opacity is the area immediately above the subject. Because both photos have sky in this area, a seamless blending can be achieved in this area by feathering the brush and playing with its size and opacity. Once this is done, photo 1 can be moved around to achieve the most desired look. Still, the purpose of the tutorial was to illustrate how the gradient tool works, and in this regard, it well succeeds. Thanks.
Thanks for the kind words, and the feedback. A friend of mine, Brian Reed (from Hawaii and Sweden) is a great photographer and a musician. He once told me he thinks Photoshop is like Jazz Improv. Within the form there's room for a vast range of approaches, styles, and interpretation. And the analogy extends further: Photoshop is - literally - a keyboard ; ) instrument. It seems like there are almost always three ways to do the same thing in Photoshop, and this case is no different. Masking with brushes, feathered selections, Gradients - or a combination of all three… these are just variations on a theme.
Well done for producing a good result and for sticking your head over the parapet.
I would liken Photo$hop to a jazz improvisation played by a pub jazz band on plastic instruments with half the keys missing. Capture NX and the Gimp are far more effective and lower priced tools (gimp is free) for the sort of manipulations that you're doing.
Hi, I already commented on this technique but want to add my contribution to the issue of photographic realism. There is plenty of scientific evidence about the amazingly complicated way the eye-brain system "perceives" images, a personal mix of physiology, neurology and psychology influenced by the other senses, and how profoundly different it is from any technological means. It varies significantly from person to person or with the same person at different times. The conclusion is that there is no "realism" between the subject and the print no matter what we do. "Pure" b&w is even more abstract than color. From the camera side, we have the choice of letting the processing engine turn out an arbitrarily developed jpeg or processing the raw image ourselves. I am safe from this mess because (my) fine art photography, by definition, has no practical application but beauty and enjoyment. The only fundamental rule to follow is to be honest about what we are doing.
I have owned Elements 9 for 3 years and don't use it at all because of the steep learning curve. And this seems to offer the same problems. I can follow every step of the tutorial, but again the author assumes that we know what we are doing and leaves us with 3 images; a Photo 1, a Photo 2 and a Gradiant mask. Then he quits! I suppose to many it is trivial how to then combine the 3 but to someone new to Photoshop it isn't.
So I have 3 images with no know way to combine them. Frustrating and precisely why I won't take the time to learn the software, it is completely counterintuitive. Likely a great tool but only for those that have the hundreds of hours needed to learn it properly.
Following the instructions on page 2 of the article will give you the two images combined. If you can't do it because you've not followed the article correctly, not learning it is just laziness.
On the other hand, if you don't want to learn, no-one can blame you for that. But there are plenty of beginner level articles out there.
I am not sure that you are right. I am myself also a PSE user (and not a Photoshop user), and for me too it is not evident how to do the job with PSE....But of course, this is not at all a critics towards the tutorial,....which never claimed to be an Elements tutorial.
I have owned and used CS3 for several years for basic operations and I thought I would like to know more about the clever stuff and that this piece would be useful. I worked through it concientiously but I did find it difficult to follow. My guess is that if you found it easy to follow, you didn't need the instruction in the first place because you already know your way around pretty well. In the end I too was left wondering how to end up with a combined image because what I did end up with was not very good to look at. I guess I will just stick to the relatively simple stuff that I know how to do, until intructions are produced for those of us who need guidance, not for those who already understand but are just looking for something to criticise, or to show that they know an even better way.
It's a great technique - I'm not hung up on issues of "cheating". But I also don't like techniques that result in images that look fake. When I look at the composite, I see strong shadows on the building from an overhead sun that obviously isn't there (yes it would be out of the frame, but couldn't be there with those clouds). Still a useful article, but it would be better with a photo that shows why you would want to do it, not just how you do it.
I think the author has some fascinating stuff on his own website, very different from anything I've done and very different from the landscape shot used in this article.
Thanks! I've been wanting to learn more about the gradient tool, and you've done a really nice job of explaining its potential and how to get using it for more stuff.
I just read some of the comments about this, and apparently there are a lot of people who don't realize that many people use Photoshop for stuff other than photo optimization. The technique in this article can come in very handy when one is making composite illustrations for publications and other creative endeavors. Nothing wrong with photo manipulation either, as long as it isn't presented as being out-of-camera results. The article is of potential use to many people, and I thank the author for it.
Very helpful article. Thanks!
I am not at all a "purist" as far as the "composites are not art mindset / camp". YMMV and my 2¢
I've been struggling with getting decent composites with winter trees in the foreground. As the author points out, that's a difficult compositing task. "Refine Edge" and "Color Range" haven't been coming out all that well. Neither has the Fluid Mask plug-in.
While this could be a case of "a poor craftsman blames his tools", I'm hoping that the Gradient mask approach you describe will not only be simpler, but work better.
It's not you. We've all been led to believe that silhouetting two pictures together in Photoshop is easy. In fact, it's one of the hardest things to do, especially when there's fine detail, like tree limbs. For some reason, maybe it's just human nature, I notice that even photographers with lots of darkroom experience reach for a selection tool first when they're in Photoshop - even though that's an approach that wasn't really available to most of us in a traditional wet-darkroom. (I actually tried using litho film and pin-registration a few times, but I think most people just stuck with the old fallback: cardboard.) Counter-intuitively, I think it's possible to get much better results by blending images together, rather than trying to cut them out. This approach emulates the way we used to approach burning & dodging in the darkroom: feathered and blended edges, created by moving the cardboard as we exposed the paper. The Gradient tool seems made for this.
Complex composites are a matter of mixing techniques. Gradient masks are awesome as a rough starter - you can get most stuff out of the way with a few clicks, with very good results.
You can then focus on the foreground elements - I usually go about it by painting on the same mask with a digitizer, what gives you a lot of control and precision. You can reduce the Flow and achieve semi-transparency of borders, what helps mixing the layers. Takes time and a lot of effort, sure, but the results are top notch.
You can do something similar with Poly Lasso, painting with the mouse and a lot of elbow grease, as well.
One of the things most people tend to miss, though, is the value of applying global effects to all the layers. Whenever you apply the same effect to all the layers of a composite, you make them aesthetically closer. For instance, something I usually do is apply small hue shifts and grain.
Thanks very much for this, I have done the same thing a variety of ways but this is nice and quick and smooth, much easier to do with the right image. As a landscape photographer I meet this challenge often. Here you are in this great place with a wonderful foreground and a drab, dreary sky, but today is the day you are here and tomorrow you have to move on. I keep a file I call "Big Sky" with just images of different types of skies that I use for just this occasion. Fake? Don't be silly, were Van Gogh's landscapes fake? Marshall McLuhan said: "Art is whatever you can get away with." I have lived by that maxim for a long time now. If I made it, it's my work, and stands on it's own.
Alex, I love your "were Van Gogh's landscapes fake?".
I really believe that both sides have valid arguments....It really depends on what one is interested in when looking at photographies.
And I really believe that the Tutorial will be useful for a lot (of course: not all) dpreview Website users.
Pity the comments section has been swamped by an irrelevant discussion.
But regarding the technique itself, I'm sorry but using the gradient tool is poor advice. You can just about get away with it in this particular case because there is a conveniently detail-free straight band just above roof height in both images, but in general you won't have this. The wiser and more versatile technique would be to marquee or lassoo the area to be revealed and refine the selection to create a soft edge before filling the selection with black/white as applicable. Or in many cases it's quick and convenient to select first then create the layer mask from the selection. You can then fine-tune by painting with a soft brush, or whatever suits, directly onto the layer mask.
There are applications for using gradients on layer masks, but this isn't one of them.
Agreed, this technique has the limitations of a split neutral density filter and works best with straight, simple horizons. I most cases, landscapes are more complicated and require the techniques mentioned by Steve.
So some people call this cheating. And why should I care ?
Nice article.
|The Engineer by EXX
from Steam Trains
|Madrid subway by MAGMATCICO62
from Your City - Public Transport
|Incandescent Bulb by Kukla
from Illuminate- Macro only
|Curiousity by PERCY2
from Macro - Your Best Macro Ever
|Hoar Frosted Trees by sabishiT3T
from Cold
Rotolight has released the Anova Pro 2 circular LED for stills and video, boasting a 70% increase in brightness and what the company describes as "unrivaled battery performance."
Designer Vinicius Araújo has imagined what he believes the perfect Adobe software keyboard might look like. From customizable touch pads, to a scroll wheel, to a little display that shows the tool in use, his design is pretty compelling.
Peak Design has teamed up with Leica to release a limited-edition backpack made special for fans of the Red Dot.
A portrait of an android woman has beaten over 5,700 pictures of humans to take third place in this year's prestigious Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. The judges were not told the subject was an 'android' until after the winning images were chosen.
Hauling around C-Stands just got a whole lot less annoying thanks to these new Matthews shoulder and roller bags, which can hold two or three C-stand (respectively) plus accessories.
Neal Preston has shot timeless photos of everyone from Led Zeppelin, to Whitney Houston, to Michael Jackson. In this interview, he offers insights into his craft to up-and-comer Elijah Dominique.
Future prosumer Canon DSLRs might feature light-up buttons, if this newly published patent is any indication of the camera company's plans.
Sony's a7R Mark III shoots 42.4MP files at 10fps and incorporates a robust video feature set, large battery, refined ergonomics and more. It certainly looks impressive, but what is it like to use, and how does it stack up against the rest of the market? Find out in our full review.
We're counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017 – the Fujifilm X100F takes the bronze and the #3 spot.
There's never been a better time to shop for a new camera, but the number of options available can be overwhelming. In this series of buying guides we've provided customized recommendations for several use cases, from shooting landscapes to buying a first camera for a student photographer.
Shopping for a camera with a set budget? No problem! We've rounded up our favorite cameras, broken them into price brackets and picked the best of the bunch.
Looking for a lightweight compact camera that's easy to bring with you anywhere? Or maybe you're smartphone-shopping and want the one that takes the best picture. And what if you want to shoot from above? In these buyers guides we have recommendations for the best compact cameras, smartphones and drones.
Despite reports to the contrary, analysis of DPReview images by our friend Jim Kasson confirms a disappointing fact: Sony a7R III is still a Star Eater. But there may be some improvements.
As the saying goes: A photo is worth a thousand words. And if you're sending that photo through Facebook Messenger, your thousand words now look twice as nice after today's update to 4K resolution.
Get to know the new Leica CL in short order by giving our 90 second 'First look' video a watch.
Leica has just released the CL, the forth in its series of APS-C L-mount cameras. Despite sharing a name with a camera released in the mid-70s, the new CL is a thoroughly modern ILC, with a 24MP sensor and built-in electronic viewfinder.
The Leica CL is a 24MP rangefinder-style mirrorless camera, which sits alongside the TL2 in the company's APS-C lineup. We've been using one for a few days – check out our gallery of images.
While it shares a name with one of Leica's most popular and affordable cameras of the 1970s, the new CL is separated from its namesake by more than just years. We've been using one for a few days - click through for a detailed first-impressions report.
We're counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017, and the #4 ranking goes to the Leica M10.
Sigma is discounting 13 different high-performance 'Art' series lenses from today until November 30th. The company is calling it an 'unprecedented' sale.
See DJI's 'AeroScope' drone-tracking technology in action. This is the system that DJI says can help law enforcement and airport (among others) track and identify rogue drones.
iPhone X owners can already accessorize their new phone with high-quality smartphone photography lenses courtesy of Moment's new lineup.
Considering buying Sigma's exciting new 16mm F1.4 DC DN Contemporary lens for crop-sensor E-Mount and M43? Check out these official full-res samples first!
Vimeo has just added support for 8K HDR 10-bit content, making it possible to show up to 75% of the colors the human eye can perceive vs the usual 35%. Take THAT YouTube.
The holidays are coming, but your gear isn't cutting it? It's time to treat yourself!
We're counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017, and sitting pretty at #5 is the Fujifilm X-T20.
See some of the most iconic black-and-white photographs throughout history brought to life by a community of colorization enthusiasts and professional retouchers in the new book Retrographic.
Shopping for a photographer? Whether you are one yourself or not, chances are you could use some ideas. From stocking stuffers on up, we've got some photography gift suggestions for every budget.
We're counting down our top 10 most popular sample galleries of 2017. Drum roll please... the #6 spot belongs to none other than the Sigma 85mm F1.4 DH HSM Art.
Read the story behind this gorgeous wedding photo captured at Trolltunga in Norway by husband and wife duo Priscila Valentina Photography. The 14 hour hike in the rain that preceded this shot was TOTALLY worth it.


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If you ask most folks to describe Valentine's Day and what it means they will begin with statements like, "It's a celebration of love."
Couple that with dreams of romance, a fine date done so well that one is sure it will live long and prosper in "happy remembering land" and you begin to get an idea of the pressures of coming up with something memorable to mark the day.
The pressure is on-all the television commercials tell us we must succeed in this or be doomed. Unfortunately, many of the recommendations forwarded as the most effective means of conveying how much you love your Valentine are somewhat over the top. I mean, a two carat diamond necklace, a trip to Bermuda are certainly not chopped liver but they are also not within the careful budgets many of us live in currently.
Gary and I have been married 42 years and have enjoyed times of more and times of less. I agree that Valentine's Day is a celebration of love but I also think that can be blissfully accomplished in supremely thoughtful and less expensive ways. These ideas are funded by thoughtfulness, created with kindness and received with heart filled gratitude and sometimes happy surprise. My Nana impressed upon me that you will always remember how someone made you feel. In keeping with that thought here are ideas.
Some ideas:
1. Invite your Valentine to a picnic you have created, It doesn't have to be complex or complicated. Go to a favorite shared spot or your own backyard. Their favorite music playing shows you have thought about this special time and desired to create a nice experience for them. That's the gift!
2. Bring the morning coffee along with a note describing the first time you saw them, the feelings that sight engendered and how lucky you feel to be with them.
3. When the night is done place a love note on your Valentine's pillow with 5 reasons why your life is better for having them in it. Make them real and make them true and they will resonate and be appreciated.
4. Every Valentine loves touch. A certificate for a foot rub, a back scratch or head scratch is a gift of love that is free and always appreciated.
5. The truth of the matter is that NOTHING is more romantic than real consideration of another. If your relationship is long term and involves, children, a family, a job and the working realities of living life- even more opportunities abound. Take out the garbage if that is your Valentine's normal job. Pick up the children if that is not your normal job. Make the dinner and clean it all up, vacuum the floor, fold the clothes, feed the dog, gas up the ca or wash it. Sometimes every persons "to do" list seems legion. The very fact you noticed that will show your Valentine you see them and their struggles. Making an effort to lighten your beloveds job is as romantic a gesture as exists.
Happy Valentine's Day. Hope we have inspired you to make it the kind of special love that money cannot buy.
Patti and Gary Wiles Innkeepers At Cumberland Falls Bed and Breakfast Inn Your Asheville Bed and Breakfast

subset: commoncrawl


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Improving Security Measures of E-Learning Database
E-learning is a platform that provides materials online with the objective of improving the users' teaching and learning experience. This paper is to provide security to users' passwords within the E-learning Password Management System (EPMS) in order to protect the database from hackers. The protection process is done by implementing a symmetric encryption algorithm named International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA) on the passwords. The algorithm will be improved by modifying the size of the same secret key that is used in both the encryption and decryption operations of the data.
Provided by: Iosrjournals Topic: Big Data Date Added: Apr 2013 Format: PDF


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ARIN-PPML Message
[ppml] Technical error was ( Regarding private residence... )
- From: william(at)elan.net (william at elan.net)
- Date: Thu Oct 27 16:52:17 EDT 2005
- Next message (by thread): [ppml] Maps for RIR regions not correct
- Previous message (by thread): [ppml] Technical error was ( Regarding private residence... )
On Thu, 27 Oct 2005, Samuel Weiler wrote: > And going back to the original complaint, I have no objection to ARIN > encouraging the suppression of residential registrant information. I'm not at all surprised that some/many don't objection to it - that is to be expected, but privacy & information-publication related debates have been going on both at ARIN and in country at large for long time showing very different opinions from various people on this topic. The point of the complaint was really that ARIN has decided unilaterally to recommend certain view which is not specified by the policies and has not undergone process of checking if consensus exist for this view. Its actually more general issue on what kind of recommendations are really appropriate for ARIN to make. I think the kind of recommendations that are ok are technical once where certain way is considered more efficient for ARIN to deal with (i.e. ARIN might recommend that ReassignmentSimple template be used if no POC would be entered for organization). > In fact, I think that's a very good idea. Keeping the phone book > analogy, most folks know that their phone number may be listed in the > phone book and, if nothing else, they receive a copy of the phone book > every year to remind them of that directory's existence. Absent that > cultural expectation, I think it's better to default to suppression. How can you find what "cultural expectation" is? And the "default no" view is actually not supported by what has been going on. Its always that congress or similar local government ended up having to specify that certain privacy data should or must not be released. I note also that in addition to phone book that you receive, personal data (including address) is also made available for all those who register to vote (and people don't receive book of registered voters in their community unlike the phone books...) and in many other cases you might or might not realize. -- William Leibzon Elan Networks william at elan.net


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CITIES XL "Point, Shoot - Win!" Contest Winner Announced
August 5, 2008
CITIES XL "Point, Shoot - Win!" Contest Winner Announced
Monte Cristo, publisher and developer of the upcoming next-generation city builder, CITIES XL™, is pleased to announce a winner for their "Point, Shoot - Win!" contest. The contest offered the videogame community and consumers the opportunity to have their favorite residential building (or their own home) featured in CITIES XL™ when it is released. Community member Isabella of the Philippines is the first winner of the contest, submitting photos of her stunning villa, which will now be rendered by Monte Cristo's artists for inclusion in CITIES XL™.
In September, the art team will be posting a blog entry detailing the process of inserting Isabella's family home into the game, taking readers through the design process from photo submission to full-on 3D renders. Current blog posts can be found at http://www.citiesxl.com.
CITIES XL™ allows gamers to develop cities on realistic 3D maps using an incredible collection of unique structures and monuments based on American, Asian and European-influenced architectural styles. The maps feature a variety of environments: mountains, hills, canyons, beaches and islands, all set in different climates from tropical to desert, Mediterranean to temperate. Players must create the right combinations of social services, leisure activities, special events and other job opportunities within their cities in order to feed, clothe, employ and entertain their citizens. Be it planning and building a new zoo, public park, residential neighborhood or transit system - there's always a fresh and exciting challenge for would-be city managers and mayors in CITIES XL™.
The game's online features and services will allow players to create interconnected cities on virtual and persistent planets. Mayors can share and trade with one another, specialize their economy and team up with befriended cities to create sprawling metropolises. Life on the planet will be punctuated by events and competitions - a concert held in one town may, for example, be attended by visitors from other areas who can also enjoy a walk around the city to admire the urban creations of multiple players. By combining a fantastic single-player game with the social and multiplayer aspects of an MMO, CITIES XL™ will shape the future of the genre by offering more variety, bigger cities and multiple gameplay layers.
For more information about CITIES XL™, which will ship in 2009, please join the continuously growing community at www.citiesxl.com


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For Switzerland's largest bank, the hits just keep coming. After years of being whacked with millions of dollars of fines for all sorts of infractions, UBS now appears to be at the center of the financial world's latest scandal: an alleged conspiracy by traders and brokers to rig the price of derivatives around the world by manipulating a key interest rate.
The Wall Street Journal reports that UBS has admitted to Canadian regulators that between 2007 and 2010, some of its traders and cash brokers conspired to manipulate the London interbank offered rate, also known as Libor. This is the rate that banks use to lend to each other, and it is essentially the backbone of half the world's fixed-income market, because it's also used to calculate the price of trillions of dollars of floating-rate securities every day, from car loans to corporate bonds and derivatives.
By allegedly conspiring to set Libor rates, traders and cash brokers appear to have been able to profit off of derivatives linked to it. Bloomberg News reports that UBS recently suspended a number of senior executives and traders in conjunction with the investigation.


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David Weichhand, CEO of United FCU Dies
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. -- The movement has lost a venerable leader. David Weichhand, president/CEO of United Federal Credit Union, died unexpectedly on Oct. 29, 2006 from natural causes at the age of 50.
Weichhand's 27-year career with the $498 million CU included assistant manager of support services, branch manager of the Marion, Ohio branch, and vice president of member services. He had served as president/CEO of United FCU since November 1988. On Oct. 1, 2006, Weichhand led the former First Resource Federal Credit Union to successfully complete a merger with United Federal Credit Union. The CU now serves more than 51,000 members.
The industry veteran served at all levels in the movement including on CUES' Financial Operations Advisory Committee and as the organization's Michigan counsel officer. Weichhand was also a member of the UltraData Systems CEO Forum, a founding member of the Technology Research Consortium, and he served on the Allied Solutions Advisory Board. At the Michigan Credit Union League, he served on both the executive committee and the governmental affairs committee.
Duane Nelson, executive vice president of member services, is now serving as interim CEO. The CU said it is currently conducting a national search for a permanent CEO.
"As a leader, professional, community supporter, friend, churchman, and family man, Dave will be missed greatly. We mourn our loss. But we are confident and committed to ensure that his legacy will live on," the CU said.
Weichhand is survived by his wife Beth, and four adult children, Sarah, Becky, Laura and Josh. --email@example.com


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The City of St. Augustine will kick off its 19th annual Concerts in the Plaza a little later this year. For the past two years, the city started the series of free weekly Thursday musical performances in early April.
But because of budget cuts this year, city staff decided to bring back the concerts on Memorial Day. After May 25, the weekly offerings will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. each Thursday through Labor Day.
"When we started the concerts years ago, we originally opened the season on Memorial Day, so we are just going back to that," said Wanda Bray, with the City of St. Augustine Public Affairs Department.
"We decided to change them back due to budget cuts."
Bray said that it also makes more sense to start the concert season closer to when children are out of school for the summer and when tourists are taking their vacations in the area.
Past seasons have been filled with music of all genres, from The Driftwoods, performing contemporary and original bluegrass, to Big Pineapple, playing Hawaii-an and jazz tunes. Other popular First Coast groups have included The Elizabeth Roth Band, The Restless Kind, Skin & Bonz and the Big Hungry Boys, and Funk Shui.
The concerts are free to the public, with musicians performing in the gazebo of the Plaza de La Constitucion, between King Street and Cathedral Place, in downtown St. Augustine.
Guests are invited to bring blankets or chairs for seating. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
The 2009 concert line-up will be released online in a couple of weeks at www.staugustinegovernment.com.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us


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Maybe they don't like the job he is doing. "President Obama is struggling to draw in big-dollar donations, with half as many people writing large checks to his campaign than at this point four years ago."
David Axelrod found it a tough job to explain the administration's stance on gas prices.
In other words, Obama did a rotten job as commander in chief. "GOP contender Mitt Romney attacked President Obama's foreign policy leadership on Sunday, blaming the president's 'failed leadership' for the growing instability in Afghanistan. . . . Romney pointed to Obama's 'interaction with (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai and with leaders there, as well as his relative detachment from our military commanders there and the fact that he published a specific date for a withdrawal,' as leading to the increasing instability and violence in the country." He's got that right.
Like Right Turn, liberals think the Obama "documentarians" didn't do a very good job. "Having spent the first few minutes laying out the scale of the economic emergency the president faced, the film couldn't very well slice out the most critical part of his response without replacing it with something equally meaty. Unfortunately, that something turns out to be pretty unpersuasive as an economic fix: Health care. The film essentially argues that the economic circumstances forced the president's hand on health care reform. . . . Not only is this not true as a substantive proposition — the lack of affordable health coverage simply had nothing to do with the spiraling unemployment rate and shrinking economy. It's so at odds with what most Americans believed at the time . . . that it's hard to see how suggesting the opposite will do anything other than anger voters all over again." This is what happens when you operate in an ideological cocoon.
Considering the job they have done, they do deserve to get sacked. "Mitt Romney sharpened his criticism of President Barack Obama over rising gas prices, calling on him to fire three top administration officials who he accused of pushing for higher energy prices. The 'gas hike trio,' as dubbed by Romney, of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, should resign first, Romney said." In all fairness, however, the real fault is with their boss.
It turns out it's easier to get a job when unions are absent and conservative economic policies are in place. Who would have thought, huh? "Things have changed in Muncie, a city of 70,000 where closures of auto-industry plants and other factories have left about one in five homes vacant. Jobless workers here and in many parts of the Rust Belt have lowered their expectations and become more flexible. At the same time, state politicians are fighting harder than ever to attract employers with lower taxes, streamlined regulation and other incentives. Companies like Caterpillar are eagerly exploiting both trends. . . . Companies are concentrating many of their manufacturing investments in states where unions are weak and wages relatively low."
It sounds like the New Jersey governor would really like the VP job. He's do a heck of a job stumping for Romney. Campaigning in Illinois, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: "In our Republican primary, let's be very leery, very wary of sending another member of Congress to the White House. Now, see, members of Congress they can be okay, but they don't know the first thing most of the time about using executive authority. They don't know the first thing about getting things done. We don't need Ron Paul, we don't need Newt Gingrich, and we don't need Rick Santorum. We need an executive. We need Mitt Romney in the White House."


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Hi all
A developer asked me a question I couldn't give any answer to. Our application connect through a connection pool (hibernate) to the database and the application should shut down if it can't create a connection to db or if the connection is lost, all other failures should not shut down but just give the error.
How could you catch only these messages? To figure out all possible ora errors and have logic for these doesn't seem like a good idea. Anyone that has done something similiar?


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To The Lighthouse is an unusual classic. It is a work of experimental fiction that uses the 'stream of consciousness' style. In reality, To The Lighthouse has no true narrator; we trace one characters thoughts and feelings and then move to another and so forth with no real comment on the validity of what has passed. (In a way, this is a very 'mindful' novel as meditation/mindfulness often teaches you to be aware of all passing thoughts in a non-judgmental way.) This novel is mostly a collection of "interior monologue". I get the feeling that this novel isn't about plot for Woolf (mostly because the little that does happen isn't really examined, it just happens) but about human relationships and the meaning of life.
For some reason, I didn't connect with this book. I liked the concept of having no narrator but in practice it was hard to know who was talking and who they were referring to. There is no clear indication of when a change of perspective takes place, it just blurs into one. If you don't want to do a lot of work reading this book then it can become very obscure very quickly. I frequently had to go back to the blurb to try to figure out who was happening. I think this is one of those books that will be better on the second read.
The other issue was that I didn't really care about the characters; I didn't get the deal over the lighthouse (but I think the main off-putting feature was how it was framed in Freudian terms). I found Lily and Mrs Ramsey far more interesting characters and somehow, Lily reminded me of E.M. Forster's A Room With a View. I think that the style of the novel constrained the elements of a book that I enjoy. It is difficult to get to know a character in this way. I enjoy a good plot and I also enjoy going into great depth with themes or character development. This book is mostly an afternoon looked at from different perspectives. When I put this book down, I did not feel a great desire to finish it and I struggled to get back into it.
The good parts of this book definitely come in waves. Time Passes was by far my favourite section, in many ways I found it quite brutal but I didn't the book overall remarkable. For those curious about the Boeuf en Daube in the dinner party, I found this amazing blog post from yummy-books with a recipe, hopefully I can try it soon.
From what I could tell, there were two main themes, human relationships and the whether a person's life has any meaning, or can leave any significant legacy. The first theme didn't really excite me. It was mostly textbook Freudian themes and whether a woman can remain unmarried (both of which are now either cliché or mostly irrelevant). The second theme was more interesting, but I felt it was just 'put out there' on the table. Woolf seems to have picked out three types of 'paths' and each example thinks about what difference they will make in the world. Firstly, we have a philosopher (Mr Ramsay) who obsesses over his work, whether it is any good, what affect it will have etc. Then we have the artist (Lily) who struggles trying to accurately depict what she sees on the canvas. Finally, we have the mother (Mrs Ramsay) whose concern is her family and friends. I enjoyed how Woolf portrayed the insecurities and doubts of Lily and Mr Ramsay and I wonder how much they applied to Woolf herself. If I am honest and without any spoilers, I think that out of the three Mrs Ramsay will leave the biggest legacy. This frankly surprised me, as before this I would have thought it would have been the philosopher. The other thing that surprised me was this:
"The very stone one kicks with one's boot will outlast Shakespeare."A lot of the questions are left to the reader to ask; they are not hinted at subtly like many other authors do. Perhaps, the answer Woolf hints at is that the majority of us will only ever have a finite affect on the world around us. I think Woolf's own effect depends on the reader and what they like. This book clearly has its merits, but it is not one that interests me.
Book facts
Cover: (1996 edition)


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Enjoy beautiful Lake Miramar while helping to better the lives of families with ill children! Run (5 miles) or walk (3 miles), to support the childrens' charities the Professional Alliance for Children and Rady's Children's Hospital.
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You might be thinking: is this a worthy-of-buying release? And the answer is: "maybe".
The main point is, what are you? An ancient fan of Blind Guardian's magic Tolkien-like tales with a speedy power metal soundtrack? Or are you just starting to navigate into the tempestuous and powerful waters of the band?
If the answer is the first one, then my friend, this thing is a total wreck. Not worthy of any kind of examination at all. Nothing here is better than what you can find in the lps. Not even the remixed songs, because there are some remixes here, overcomes or are good enough to replace the elder versions. In fact, the originals have a magic touch, a taste of the old days when magic and mixing still were something of a craftsman. Now, doing this kind of power metal is easy as the conventions of the style were already met and sound engineers are most of them clever enough to put the right mix, so in that context and even with the mistakes, if any, in the older versions, they are better than the ones here. So, if you are an ancient fan of the Guardian, here we got no more than metal detritus, things we know, we already have and nothing more, nothing new.
But if you are a newcomer and you are witnessing the power of Blind Guardian for the first time, this thing will probably make you fall in love with the band in the blink of an eye. It contains virtually all the hit songs, the fans-popular songs of the band, each and every one of them. Those 30 pieces are the tastiest sample of what you will get if you dare to enter deeper into BG's universe. If you're fan of Tolkien, the thing will be even faster. And that's it. I know several friends who never heard of Blind Guardian before and they always say to me "I entered into Blind Guardian thanks to Memories of a Time to Come". That should work, somehow, as evidence of what I'm saying.
So, for not making this review longer than what must be, because there is nothing else to be said, a final synthesis would be: if you are an old fan of the band, avoid this, it's unworthy for wasting money. But if you want to start something new and have a taste of Blind Guardian's power for the first time, this could be the perfect ticket for entering into the realm.
Giving this album the proper rating was difficult, but I think I'm trying to be the most fair I can be. And considering it is one of the most complete compilation albums I've seen, I gave it a few extra points for it. This release is worthy for newcomers, but nothing more.
So what exactly is this album supposed to be? I've seen this question thrown around a bit lately as many of us wonder whether or not to start hitting the currency converters on our phones to find out the cheapest potential price at which to import this. The name Blind Guardian is synonymous with quality and more often than not, we as fans buy first and ask questions later. Billed at its best as a three disc set (an abbreviated 2 disc version is also available), Memories of a Time to Come collects sixteen previously recorded and released Blind Guardian songs culled from the entirety of their discography, and either remixes or re-records fifteen of them. The lone untouched track is "Sacred Worlds", from 2010′s At the Edge of Time — and before you ask, there is no explanation as to why it is included this way. The third disc of the set features the band's old demo recordings from the era in which they were known as Lucifer's Heritage (some tracks are listed as reworked, but its difficult to tell what that exactly means). View the complete spec sheet here.
The announcement of this compilation came as something of a surprise, especially given that the only releases the band had mentioned during their last press campaign as being 'on the horizon' were the orchestral project and the next proper Blind Guardian album. Additionally, an interview with Hansi and Andre on Italy's Spazio Rock suggested that the only remixing project the band had planned, however vaguely, was a complete redo of 2002′s A Night at the Opera. The only thing I can guess at is that Virgin Germany, Blind Guardian's previous label, was going to release a basic best-of compilation regardless of the artist's approval or disapproval, and the band wisely chose to include themselves in the process in an attempt to turn it into something unique. I suppose that's blindly giving Blind Guardian a lot of credit, but I can't see a label coming up with an idea that is a bit more expensive than just your simple cut and paste best-of compilation (especially for a band that is no longer on their roster).
The selling points being touted are the newly re-recorded versions of "The Bard's Song (The Hobbit)", "Valhalla", and the 2001 epic that defined pomp, "And Then There Was Silence". The first thing I can say about this compilation is that while the three re-recordings are admirable in both intent and execution, they are rather overvalued in proportion to the actual meat of this beast, namely, the remixes. Before I start on those, I have to get this out of my system: Were Blind Guardian fans really clamoring for a re-recorded version of the lesser half of the two part "Bard's Song"? It has always been for me the often skipped over track on Somewhere Far Beyond, and I know its never really been a concert staple like its much praised better half…now those two reasons alone could be all the motivation the band needs to give the tune a second look, but frankly the decision to re-record this particular song over many other potential candidates baffles me. I guess the positive takeaway here is that I've ended up listening to the song more than I ever did in its original incarnation, though I'm still rather unmoved by it.
The newly recorded "Valhalla" is a significant improvement on the original, even Kai sounds better here, and the guitar solo section is smartly changed up in a satisfying way — however, overall there is nothing all too different going on, this is basically a studio version of how the band approaches this song live. I don't know what I was expecting, but perhaps something akin to the pair of acoustic recordings found on the old b-sides compilation The Forgotten Tales back in 1996, which completely broke down and re-imagined the original recordings to create something really fresh and unique, which gave the songs some additional or different emotional resonance. This is something I find myself thinking about especially when listening to the new "And Then There Was Silence". You know what? I prefer the original. Sure it sounded far more compressed, claustrophobia-inducing even, but it was sharper, in terms of execution in the melodies as well as vocal harmonies. The new version feels rounded, softened, less urgent. I found myself wondering whether or not it would have been better served by a remix, I think it would have.
And now on to the remixes themselves. Well, this is why you should drop the cash on this. These are remixes in the proper definition of the term, and every single song that undergoes this treatment benefits as a result. What were once compressed background vocals are now given room to breathe, have their own space, and stand out. Hansi's lead vocals are placed up front more, Andre's leads are clearer…hell it seems that everything is able to breathe easier, and given space to ring true. I'm not an audiophile so I can't get any more specific than I'm being, but classics like "Nightfall", "Bright Eyes" and "Imaginations From the Other Side" really benefit, they just pop. Were I introducing someone to Blind Guardian I'd make sure these were the versions they'd listen to first. In saying that I realize that the two disc version of this release would make a great introduction to the band for a new listener, a good mix of selected cuts spanning a career of fine moments, presented in the best possible sound quality. I suppose the real draw here is for hardcore Blind Guardian fans, who have already listened to the original recordings of these songs thousands of times and will be able to greatly appreciate the differences presented with the remixed versions. As for the Lucifer's Heritage demos on the optional third disc, well, they're demos, embryonic skeletons that were fleshed out for the better later. You either enjoy listening to their imperfections or you don't.
In summation, the triple disc is worth the purchase if you're a die hard fan, just take the re-recordings with a grain of salt and enjoy the remixes and demos. Give the two disc version to that one friend who is still not yet a convert.
- The Metal Pigeon
Originally posted at http://themetalpigeon.com/2012/02/10/blind-guardian-memories-of-a-time-to-come/
Interestingly enough, Blind Guardian has only smacked us once in the past with a compilation, and that was The Forgotten Tales in 1996, a gathering of odds, ends, covers and alternate versions that were previously only available on import singles and such. In fact, that collection was itself not domestically released at the time and I had to import it, but at least I was satisfied that I did not own much of the content. Well, that time has rolled around again, and once more the German power metal legends have satisfied this critic in that they show some due concern for their fans receiving a degree of value from what might have otherwise been a worthless repressing and reconfiguring of tracks to cash in on redundantly on their considerable, prior success.
No, most of the tracks here have at least been 'remixed'. Brightened and adjusted to meet the sleeker, 'modern' visage that Middle Earth's most lovable bards have presented on their latest studio full length At the Edge of Time. There's not a massive difference, in my opinion, and I doubt I'd ever spin this collection over the original incarnations, but the vocals in cuts like "This Will Never End" and "Imaginations from the Other Side" sound slightly more fulfilling in their presence, and the mix of the guitars less squeaky and distraught, a factor that was fortunately never enough to entirely curb my enjoyment of the albums in the first place. In other places, though, like "Follow the Blind" the vocals seem a bit wavier in quality, so to hear them so much more to the fore is not necessarily a positive thing. But at least Blind Guardian managed to add SOMETHING to the tracks, so for better or worse, they're not precisely the same.
The problem is that they've pulled off a bit of a 'dick move' reminiscent of Iced Earth's Days of Purgatory collection, where there were different versions available with varying degrees of content. Personally, I'm not fond of this practice, here or in video games or DVD sets or really anywhere. My opposition is not from a pure capitalist standpoint; clearly an individual can discern what he or she is purchasing in advance and make the choice to buy the better product. It just seems arbitrary and wasteful not to give all your fans the same amount of content, or to even waste whatever raw materials are essential to bother printing up separate products when it might save a whole lot of time and effort just to give everyone the full monty. For Memories of a Time to Come, this comes in the form of a third disc incorporated to the 'deluxe super special magnificent elite wonderful' edition, which features 70 additional minutes of content over 15 fucking tracks. Consider that Discs 1 and 2 are only around 51 minutes each, and then realize just how much you'll be screwed if you don't buy the deluxe version...
Obviously, I recommend that anyone who is actually interested in this would buy the fuller, more expensive and expansive version, because who knows if they'll just cave in and make it all available in some later pressing, and there's just so much more bulk to it. Great tracks like "Time What is Time", "A Past and Future Secret", "Lost in the Twilight Hall" and "The Script for My Requiem" are compiled there plus a few rarities like "Brian" from their 1989 live/demo promotional release, or "Dead of the Night" and "Lucifer's Heritage" from their Symphonies of Doom demo when they were actually called Lucifer's Heritage. In fact, that whole demo is here on the extra disc and it's been tweaked. But then, I don't really care for any of those particular cuts, they showcase a much rawer band in which Hansi has only the slightest trace of ability that he would later adapt into renown. The few tracks that Blind Guardian decided to fully re-record for this release were quite surprising. There's a good, heavy version of "The Bard's Song" which I love a lot more than the wimpier, acoustic versions that have long numbered as some of my least favorite content in their whole catalog. Ditto for "And Then There Was Silence".
Does Memories of a Time to Come justify the 30 beans (US) that you'll likely drop for it? That really depends if you have a huge problem with the production of their earlier records. It's not as you're getting a full remix of their discography, but the mix of oldies and from their early speed power metal years and somewhat more recent fare is interesting. A lot of favorites have been omitted like "Journey Through the Dark" and "Time Stands Still (at the Iron Hill)", and I just don't see myself desiring this experience when I could just listen to the originals and experience the full breadth of Somewhere Far Beyond, Nightfall in Middle-Earth, etc. This is a lovely package with a great looking cover, and I do appreciate the fully re-recorded versions, but it just depends how much money you wanna throw at the Germans, and how much you really need to hear the same songs with edited production. If you DO get it, though, don't waste your money on the normal two-disc version, or you'll just regret it.


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Alejo Media has announced that D.C. media veteran Jim Allen will join the Springfield, Va.-based, video production company as a partner. Allen will be Chief Operating Officer and will be primarily responsible for corporate imaging and branding, sales and marketing, and business development.
Before joining Alejo Media, Allen was Director of News and Media Services at the American Institute of Physics.
Alejo Media Founder and Chief Executive Officer Anna Davalos will continue to oversee all aspects of production, personnel and administration for the Corporation.
Alejo will be soon announce the time and Capitol Hill location of their Annual Spring Reception.
What is Allen's employment history? In his past… Allen's resume includes: Media Director, Energy Now!/Clean Skies TV; a CBS DC Radio Talk Show Host: "Signs of the Times" and "Clean Skies Radio"; Editor, Energy and Environment "Morning Brief" Newsletter; Special Reports Editor/Media Relations Director, The Hill newspaper; Press Secretary for a DC Mayoral Campaign; News/Program Director and Talk Show Host, Radio One Inc.; Program Director AM980; Coordinator, Mid Atlantic Region, CBS National Television Sales; Acting Chief Business Development Officer, Litman Law; 5 years in Sales/Marketing and/or Editorial at LAT; an announcer and Public Affairs Director for WSTU-AM Stuart, FL; a reporter for WPEC-TV West Palm Beach, FL; and a contributor to Washington, D.C.'s NBC 4 TV's Reporters Notebook roundtable program since 1995.


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Today's Forum was written by Jason Henderson is chairman of BikeAthens, an alternative transportation advocacy group.
Recently, a small but vocal group of critics has blamed the traffic woes on Hawthorne Avenue on its new three-lane configuration -- two car lanes, a center turn-lane and ''bike areas.'' Their concerns about congestion have merit, but their belief that returning Hawthorne to four, crowded lanes is misguided. The traffic problems on Hawthorne and elsewhere in Athens do not come from lack of roadway capacity. Traffic problems come from excessive dependence on the automobile for all daily needs, and a lack of viable alternatives to the automobile.
Depending on road widening to cure our transportation problems is like a doctor telling an obese patient with a heart condition that the best way to lose weight and regain health is by loosening his belt. In the case of Athens, our heart disease is the ecological and social problems stemming from excessive automobile dependency. Our 50-year approach to this is to widen roads, and Hawthorne Avenue is, in fact, slated for widening years from now. The loss of private property for that future widening project is a battle no one is looking forward to. Nevertheless, in the short term, the three-laning was implemented to reduce accidents and provide a safer bike route.
Ask urban planning experts about the creation of healthy communities and they would stress a need to reduce automobile dependency and provide transportation choices. The re-striping of Hawthorne was an important, yet small, step toward making Athens a more healthy community.
The Athens-Clarke Commission has committed to the development of an in-town network for safe, efficient and accessible bike transport. They have made this commitment because they understand that biking has enormous potential as a way to avoid future congestion, much of which can be expected as a result of the continuing growth of the University of Georgia. Without these changes, this growth will negatively impact our neighborhoods and our air and water quality. We can choose to either widen in-town roads at the expense of homes, businesses, and to accept dirty air and water, or we can try something else.
With viable transportation alternatives in place, upward of 30 percent of in-town trips can be made by some other means than solo driving. Bike facilities are a crucial part of this solution, although they must have connectivity to be functional. One problem with Hawthorne today is the connectivity is not yet there. To achieve connectivity, Prince Avenue should be re-striped to three lanes and include wide, safe bike lanes. The mayor even made a campaign promise to do this in 1998!
Considering the safety perspective to motorists, the re-striping of Hawthorne reduces speeding and will decrease the number of accidents. The posted speed limit of 35 mph was often violated in the four-lane configuration, making left turns and driveway access perilous. Sideswiping and rear-end accidents were common. The very narrow lanes (roughly 10 feet wide) and routine speeding made the road hostile to anyone attempting to walk or bike the corridor. There are many people who live in the area who cannot afford a car, and use Athens Transit or walk to businesses, schools and church. The elderly and children were especially at risk under the four-lane configuration. With three-lanes, the road is safer for all users.
To be sure, a better vision for Hawthorne and Baxter needs to be developed, and three-laning is not the final solution to the improvement of these corridors. The county needs to guide development and encourage appropriate in-fill, including apartments for low-income residents and students in addition to affluent residents. Sidewalks need upgrading, trees should be planted and crosswalks installed. The potential for economic growth and prosperity under a new model is tremendous in both of these corridors, but it requires creativity and leadership from our government and business leaders.
I would urge anyone opposed to the three-laning of our in-town corridors to read ''Road Diets: Fixing the Big Roads'' by Dan Burden, a seasoned traffic engineer from Florida. This article can be accessed on the Internet at: http://www.walkable.org/download/rdiets.pdf. For those without Internet access, please feel free to contact BikeAthens at (706) 425-0868 and we will gladly provide you with a copy.
This article published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, July 16, 2001.
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