City - Electra State - TEXAS Country - United States
About
I am inspired to post this photo for two reasons:
First, I had driven by Electra, Texas on the main highway dozens of times and had never ventured off to see what the town looked like. Finally one day, I did. I expected the same old, same old, one block long downtown area followed by a scattering of houses and trailers.
Was I in for a surprise. This was virtually a ghost town of block after block of magnificent structures. It seems the "downtown" had grown to dozens of blocks in the early 1900s and then died. This little city felt like it had probably rivaled Dallas at the time. Why had this city thrived unlike most other small Texas towns? I had to ask. And what I found out was that at the time, it was one of the richest little towns in the Texas panhandle, if not in the state due to the oil boom with the advent of the automobile. When oil died, so did this town, leaving block after block of ghost buildings. All that remains is a one-block long "business district"... and a smattering of houses.
Secondly, I have grappled at what to do with the photos I shot in this town. I was next inspired by Ms. Gayle here on Usefilm to give a try at "aging" a photo. So, here is my attempt. It was a learning process and not even sure I did it right. So, feel free to critique this from a post-processing standpoint or just a photographic standpoint.
Electra, Texas is in the panhandle just north of Wichita Falls.
And besides that, you're probably getting tired of red rocks.
Dave, Lori - geez, get a room will ya??? Anyway, may I interrupt your cosy correspondence for a sec? I think I know what's going on...
Ok, sounds like Lori has saved the *thumbnail* version of the image somehow. Not sure how that could have happened, but you may find it easier/quicker to drag and drop images straight into photoshop, work on them then save from there.
Dave, as for the pink pixels, they appear when you add noise unless you check the box next to the option *Monochromatic* in the add noise dialog. I think your process for sepia tones is as good as any. Whatever gets the job done in the end is fine. And you've done a great job here. I likey!
Now, thanks for letting me interrupt your little tet-a-tet guys. Carry on!... :)
I do hope you appreciate this. I had to find it again on my computer, which was difficult since I forgot what on earth folder I put it in. FINALLY located your pix. (most likely couldn't find it because it's such a small file.)
The image is only 1.681"x1.472" (that's INCHES) and RES. 72.
I did not resize it when I copied it from UF...do they resize them?
Are you positive you didn't have the image box set to pixels instead of inches or something? :) HONEST....no resizing!!!! L:)
"I tried to view this image full screen and all I saw was pixels.????"
My dear, dear Lori. Digital pictures are MADE of pixels. sheesh.
What do you mean small? I loaded it at 670 X 587 with a high res. It just barely fit under the 400 kb rule. Somebody else said something about why my pictures are so small, I dunno. Maybe I should use 800 X with a lower dpi?
Meanwhile, I can't see what you did with the pic, all I can pull up is a thumbnail size.
So now that you've resorted to just working on my pics from your comfy home, does this mean the flight is off? The honeymoon is over?
BTW........why are your pictures so small? I had a difficult time working on it, couldn't really see it up close...I usually upload at 7 inches wide at 100 dpi.......the limit is 700. I tried to view this image full screen and all I saw was pixels.????
Well, it's cuz I am stupiedoh and don't know how to add sepia to a photo in PS7. I think somebody told me but I've slept since then.
So, what I did was desat the building. The I added a layer of orange and changed the opacity to about 30%. Then added noise to both the orange color layer and the building. So, the colors came through on the orange. But they are not real noticeable on my monitor so I thought I could get away with it... but nooooooooo.
Flight? You mean I gotta drive 80 miles to pick you up? Oh. Okay. It'll be worth it I guess. Leaving now.
What a NEAT old building this is! It looks like it's a ghost town for sure, that must have been a fun adventure.
I like the grainy effect OK, and the presentation. But I don't care for the 'pinks' in the grain. So I'm wondering if this was desaturated, then toned..........that would 'please' me more! (LOL)
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{K:75282} 4/1/2006
Anyway, may I interrupt your cosy correspondence for a sec? I think I know what's going on... 