Amazing how brilliant the dahlias are as the days grow shorter. I like “Mike’s Dahlia” as well as the dahlia portraits from yesterday.

am — 2:13 pm September 20, 2007

How did you do the pen and ink overlay in Photoshop? Is this a feature available in Elements 4.0?

Rae — 9:05 pm September 20, 2007

I use a couple of different techniques, rae, but the most important is an effect called “Posterize,” and you have to try different settings until you find the one you like.

I don’t use, or have, Elements so someone else will have to tell us if it’s available there, but I doubt it.

Update: Ooops, Posterize is the effect I most often use. In this case I actually used a filter called Sumi.

loren — 9:20 pm September 20, 2007

Mike’s Dahlia floats on the page like one of those
suspended blooms we’ve sometimes seen on ponds at a party, but more ethereal since the pond is only our imagination. Nice touch.

Mike — 10:32 pm September 21, 2007

You’re right, MIke, it reminded me of a lotus when I shot it.

Unfortunately, i don’t know of many lotuses around here.

loren — 10:47 pm September 21, 2007