Teach us with your bad stuff?

[vawitt]

I have been cleaning out old photos (duplicates, etc.) and came across this very early filmstrip effort of mine. I am still laughing at how bad it is...

POOR...no...AWFUL clone job to add background
Drop shadow too deep
Poor finishing - you can see photos peeking through the filmstrip holes

ICK! :eek::D

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1lRvEmDRMn0srV8N88xjByPTd5Y5N_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1lRvEmDRMn0srV8N88xjByPTd5Y5N)

Anyone else care to share their disasters in the name of education?

[mljrbg]

Val, this is a great topic. I'm laughing so hard because my pics were awful and I didn't know it!!

This is from the first Crop Challenge that I did 12 days after I joined the Village.

Crop Challenge #44 (http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1Fa5TGxUvd6Y9zd49Ar4LrHUN2T0PB_thumb.jpg)

This one is from EZ Challenge #1 which was posted the day after the above pic. I had a problem with these challenges for a long time because I couldn't get the pics to enlarge so I was working off of the pic in the thread which made for a teeny-tiny image to work with.

EZ Challenge #1 (http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1DCtFfAmOYdD4ZyDu2a5VTZT4UTX0_thumb.jpg) EDIT: Look at the top of the mountain for the moose that I added!!

Thanks Val...I'm still laughing...a lot!!!!!

[Red Sky]

I'm in, Val. Embarrassing myself is easy! 12 years ago when I got my first real PC (the early Apple doesn't count, for it was pretty much only good for text) I had Microsoft Picture It! and a scanner. I did this beauty. I took some cartoon characters and added them to a railroad photo, then thought Pat Metheny should go in it. And then I took a Metheny CD cover and swirled it in the sky. Cool! Add the shadow to the roof to make it look realistic! Now, how about that old photo of me and my sister watching trains when we were kids? Oh, put it in the clouds for realism! A layered disaster, but I liked it at the time.:) But one thing I did learn and appreciated; anything is possible. Just got to work on the details!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1MLLaVETJIwz4V8uAUdwube1QDgqbL_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1MLLaVETJIwz4V8uAUdwube1QDgqbL)

[NMarti]

Val
You got me! I was experimenting and trying to make "water" very early in my learning cycle. I actually posted this and was convinced it really looked real! :eek: Ok -maybe there was a few glasses of wine involved before posting.:rolleyes:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1VNOrf2sl1mOKjEsX5rkcyUmoSsWK_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1VNOrf2sl1mOKjEsX5rkcyUmoSsWK)

[billz]

Hey ... those are pretty good!

This is one of my first efforts at cloning from 2005. :o

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1xlAMHxdlMiZEMS0D5ZjClnhPh2Ra_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1xlAMHxdlMiZEMS0D5ZjClnhPh2Ra)

Apologies to the poor dog for being poked in the ribs by the corner of the frame.

Bill

[bnk1953]

We all have our "forgot how bad I was when I started". But thanks for reminding me of my trips out to Arches and Canyonlands. There is nothing like a sunset on Delicate - or 4 wheeling in the back country of Arches to see some of the other off road areas. And to think that an arch that I saw a few years ago has already collapsed - one has to wonder how long Delicate will last. One of the trips I was able to walk directly under Landscape Arch - but the next time - it was closed off as being too dangerous. Ahhh the memories
~bruce.

[Byron Gale]

Here are a couple of my early masterpieces...

Grant's Challenge #21 - June 2003 - I created the shapes for the beams, and then filled with a spectrum gradient... which cuts off some of the colors as the beams are closer to the lighthouse. And how about those sharp-edged, opaque beams!!! At least I desaturated the main image without too much blood loss...

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1JJ92X6lXmnR18R9bGX43cgwFQS0cR_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1JJ92X6lXmnR18R9bGX43cgwFQS0cR)


Grant's Challenge #25 - July 2003 - In case it is not clear, this was a swipe at the scene from "The Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy's house lands on the Witch o' the West. You can see my masterfully-rendered cyclone departing over the horizon, while the Yellow Brick Road blandly beckons us to follow. But I am most proud of those barber-pole-stockinged legs and ruby slippers protruding abruptly from beneath the house!! Note the complete lack of shadows or any attempt at all to feather them into the image!! You don't just see work like this every day, folks!!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1soLG0mMZI9DyMIC8vdTmMLHaBvz0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1soLG0mMZI9DyMIC8vdTmMLHaBvz0)

[Red Sky]

Byron, your Wizard of Oz image is stellar! Love those legs! You started Grant's Challenge pretty early on, didn't you?

I cringe when I think of some of the earlier stuff I posted here, like I hope to cringe on current images I do now, sometime down the road. It means you are learning. But the encouragement I got from others motivated me to carry on, and that was most appreciated.

Hope to see more people's earlier work. Don't be afraid!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1gR7zLfeLeB5xqs3x6V74rUVMDhGw0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1gR7zLfeLeB5xqs3x6V74rUVMDhGw0)

Now there is good shadowing!

[vawitt]

Wow - we've all come a long way, haven't we?? I'm sure I have some more not-so-masterpieces and will put them up as they surface.

[Red Sky]

Val, you learn from your mistakes, so I hope people will feel free to share their learning experiences!

I think this is a great thread and hope others will join in.

Bruce- Almost forgot! Wall Arch collapsed. I was there in October and saw the spot. And you are right, you used to be able to go underneath Landscape. I wouldn't be surprised if that goes in my lifetime. And get to Bryce while you can! They say the hoodoos will completely erode in 3 million years!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1cFSEbbGlCY9QEKgqYuO3yH7cUeQ_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1cFSEbbGlCY9QEKgqYuO3yH7cUeQ)

[Byron Gale]

...Now there is good shadowing!Indeed!! :D

By the time Grant's Challenge #61 rolled around in April, 2004, my own shadow techniques had improved, considerably... my taste, however, remains less developed! :p

The original was just a poor, innocent hydrant minding its own curbside business...

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1whT745ft827qxqbH7oOqoLCWz9ww0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1whT745ft827qxqbH7oOqoLCWz9ww0)

[Red Sky]

I think your tastes are most refined, Byron. We are currently debating here, in the Red Sky household, bathroom remodels. Is it too much to ask that my bathroom includes a urinal with a built in ice maker? I mean, it's my bathroom!

[bnk1953]

Steven - spent 3 days wandering around in Bryce - The wall street area in the early morning is so great - wonderful glowing colors looking up - reminded me of the Page, AZ area.
I have been fortunate over my lifetime - I currently have spent at least 3 days (and in some 3 weeks) in 43 of the U.S. "official - full fledged" National Parks w/ too many memories for words. As we celebrate the 200th of Abraham Lincoln - we are reminded that he was the president that set aside the Land Grant for Yosemite National Park. We in the U.S. are so blessed by those who have come before us and saved so much for generations down the line to experience!
~bruce.

[Byron Gale]

...Is it too much to ask that my bathroom includes a urinal with a built in ice maker?...I am all for the stand-up... but hadn't heard of a urinal with a built-in ice maker! :eek:

I have often daydreamed of having more comforts at hand... already have a magazine rack, but would appreciate a swing-away table (for crosswords or laptop), music, phone and TV. Who's to say that a small refrigerator wouldn't be a welcome addition, along with a little pantry?

[NMarti]

Okay - this discussion is right in line with technology gone crazy in the bathroom. I have to share this story. Last night I'm sitting here at the computer and I get an IM from my daughter. I immediately think this is bizarre because she is right here in the house in the next room. I open up messenger and she is texting me from the bathroom on her cell phone to bring her toilet paper because the roll is empty. :eek:

[vawitt]

LOL! That is too funny!

I suppose she could have just sent you a photo-message of the empty roll...:D

[vawitt]

Oh gawd......here's a lesson....always burn and dodge on a NEW LAYER so when you overdo it you can toss the layer and not end up looking like the Friends episode where Ross stayed in the teeth-whitening chair too long...

[vawitt]

Ack! Here's one of my first attempts at blending two photos. Hmmm...nice GRASS growing out of my armpits. Apparently I hadn't yet mastered the selection tools?

(My right elbow was broken in this picture - it was still swollen from the surgery. I had taken off the fibreglass half-cast for the photo. That weird shape is it working hard to heal. Can't blame that on PSE! Looks much more normal now...phew!)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1mHqSI8wMbzQUDnkqbOh8c3lWRVZb0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1mHqSI8wMbzQUDnkqbOh8c3lWRVZb0)

[mljrbg]

Nancy, that is hysterical!! What would we do without modern technology!!

[john_r]

I'm in, Val. Embarrassing myself is easy! 12 years ago when I got my first real PC (the early Apple doesn't count, for it was pretty much only good for text) I had Microsoft Picture It! and a scanner. I did this beauty. I took some cartoon characters and added them to a railroad photo, then thought Pat Metheny should go in it. And then I took a Metheny CD cover and swirled it in the sky. Cool! Add the shadow to the roof to make it look realistic! Now, how about that old photo of me and my sister watching trains when we were kids? Oh, put it in the clouds for realism! A layered disaster, but I liked it at the time.:) But one thing I did learn and appreciated; anything is possible. Just got to work on the details!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1MLLaVETJIwz4V8uAUdwube1QDgqbL_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1MLLaVETJIwz4V8uAUdwube1QDgqbL)

Homer Simpson and Path Metheny??!!! Doh!!!

Funny picture!

[Deborah]

After spending a week without a computer, I've gone through a few of my Creative pictures. back in 2005.
EEEEK !
With this new monitor it's very humbling. I see I forgot to add frames around some of the pictures in Swirly. And even forgot to clean his nose.....but he'll remember that grandma meant well & love him!
Even managed to shorten & disjoint legs in( Family ) The main thing is that I've learned so much here, and cant wait to learn more.
Thanks for bringing this to the forum. It was a blast to go down memory lane.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/18wG9brzg4qDSOIf9iuGNlNMEXN80_thumb.gif (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=18wG9brzg4qDSOIf9iuGNlNMEXN80)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1RgGQnO9E5iKgLClk70cT9PgXsAM6c_thumb.gif (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1RgGQnO9E5iKgLClk70cT9PgXsAM6c)