[samtr87]

Here's my entry #1. Photoshop, HDR, B&W filter, erased B&W over the bug

[Bart]

Great and creative entries already!

I have two variations of a more mundane nature

With Silver Efex:




With Colour Efex:

[todd]

you guys are bugging me and i quite like it! more please!

[todd]

mid month bump

[jmschrei]

How 'bout a high key critter?

[Bart]

Great result, Joe!

[todd]

indeed fine work Joe!

[todd]

bump bump.. a week left to let this shot bug you a little bit.

[Bart]

I had another go at this bug

I tried to enhance the insect from the background.
The tools I have available are mostly based on colour (control points in the Nik software) and that doesn't work very well. The insects colour blends in with the background a bit too much.
I think you really need some kind of layer possibility to make this work.

This is what I came up with.

[todd]

Nice work Bart! Did you do this all with Nik?

[Bart]

Yes, from LR where I did the cropping.
I used Viveza and Color Efex.
And rounded off with adding some clarity in LR.

However, when these plug-ins are used from LR, there is no going back. You can never recreate the same result. Unless you remember exactly what you did. Not likely

From PS, I believe you can create a 'smart filter' that can be picked up again in the plug-in to be modified or completed.

Most of the Nik plug-ins are still quite unknown to me. They were recently offered for free when you had one.
I use Silver Efex routinely and Color Efex rarely. Viveza was a first discovery

[todd]

Yes, from LR where I did the cropping.
I used Viveza and Color Efex.
And rounded off with adding some clarity in LR.

However, when these plug-ins are used from LR, there is no going back. You can never recreate the same result. Unless you remember exactly what you did. Not likely

I hear ya about not going back, but I like that, because it adds to the sense of treating each image creatively and uniquely.

I am a gimp user and used to use the Nik filters a lot when running 32-bit gimp because the I could use a plugin (pspi) that let me load the Nik filters with a keystroke and immediately (and quickly) update back to gimp in my workflow. Loved that. Moved to 64-bit gimp a couple years ago or so and that plugin wasn't an option anymore.. bah. I have the lightroom 5 beta installed right now and have experimented with it and with using Nik in there but it's just slow to work through stuff compared to what I used to have that I haven't used it very much... The Nik tools are great though..

[todd]

Contest Closed!

Thank you Bart for the gentle reminder.

[todd]

Another round of excellent creative productions by all. Thank you all for participating!

Ivoire all of your entries were great and fun. The color and what you did with the background on the first two is just awesome.

Altopiet your entry is freaky and very cool! You really enhanced the features and scene to present something from another world.

Samtr87 great use of selective color to make our creature pop on the screen.

Bart I liked all three of your unique entries as well. Your second entry was the runner up.

Joe your high key critter was a very nice rendition too, although the graininess was a bit distracting for me. You handled it well though..

All that to say that the winner is.... Ivoire with his first entry. You wow'd my right out of the gate and especially what you did with the background really strikes my fancy. Your invasion shot was great too with that same foundation...



Great job congrats!

[ivoire]

It was fun to do over a couple of rained out days. Congrats to all the participants and Todd for hosting this one. I'll post the next competition in a while.