fritzified.com » Photos (using Sony W300)

Photoshop CS4 Tutorial: Black and White

Fritz — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:05:48 +0000

Without further ado and as promised, here’s the tutorial I prepared which will help you convert your colored digital photographs into impressive black and white images. This guide may have been prepared using Adobe Photoshop CS4 but they are still very much applicable if you are stuck with Photoshop 7 or CS3.

1. First, open a photograph of your choice.

Initially, press X to toggle your foreground color to black (you can toggle between white and black foreground colors by pressing X. This may come in handy with other Photoshop techniques out there). You’ll observe the effect in the upper right hand corner of your CS4 window on the “Color” box as shown in the image below (try pressing X several times and observe what it does with the elements in said box).

2. Now go to the Layers palette and add a new “Gradient Map” adjustment layer like in the following screencap.

This screen will then appear (as a pop-up in CS3 or Photoshop 7) above the Layers palette. Just leave all the values alone as they were initially.

At this stage, your image will have already changed from colored to black and white but we are far from done yet.

3. Next, as in #2, create another adjustment layer but this time, choose “Channel Mixer.” The image will still look the same when you do this but everything will change as we proceed.

Right now, you have three items on your Layers palette: Background, Gradient Map, and Channel Mixer.

The screen below will then replace the “Gradient Map” pallete on CS4 (Channel Mixer will still appear as a pop-up in either CS3 or Photoshop 7), above the Layers palette. Make sure the “Monochrome” box is checked thereby making the “Output Channel” show a “Gray” selection (ticking the “Monochrome” box will automatically choose “Gray” for you).

The next step will call for values depending on how bright your image is. It may also depend on the effect you would like the lighting to be in your final B&W output.

4. There are four adjustable values in Channel Mixer. First thing’s first, bring down the value of “Constant” to -8. Now, darker images may need to be adjusted to around -6 and brighter ones may call for an even lower than -8 value. The lower the value, the darker the image (initially, but this is just normal). At this point, have Constant rest at -8 and fine tune it after we have pegged the value of the other variables in the next steps. For this photo, however, I used a -7 value.

Next, slide the value of the “Red” channel up between +70 and +75 (I used +72 for this photograph).

Now, the tricky part is finding the right values for “Green” and “Blue.” Drag the slider for Green to the right first and let it rest to around +20. Do the same with Blue. Please note that their values may most probably be different from each other depending on whether you think you have already achieved the “right” mix. Personally, if the whites have already taken over details in a photo that I think are important, then I’ve already overdone it with either of the Green and/or Blue values. Adjust one after the other and keep their values relatively close (a +20 Green value and a +40 Blue may still work for some photographs so just experiment while keeping an eye at your image).

For this photo, I used the values below.

Here’s the final output we got by using this technique.

Had you done it by merely selecting Image > Mode > Grayscale, you would have gotten this, instead:

Again, here’s the original photo as shown way up in this post:
.

I hope you liked this nifty tutorial. It’s the very same technique I used with my Batman on Gargoyle statue photographs featured in the previous post.

Until next time!

Original image in this post was taken using a Sony DSC-W300, if in case you are wondering.

What is this… this Baconator® thing?!

Fritz — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:14:01 +0000

It’s the rave about town, this Baconator^® thing: 6 strips of bacon, 2 burger patties, 2 cheese slices, one very satisfying grub. I was all, “no way you guys wanna kill yourselves with that … that cardiac arrest inducing THING?!”

It has dragged for weeks, my disgust over this burger and the more I shake the thought off, the more I seem to think about having some. To mask my personal dilemma, I was all still MOUTH WATERING MY ASS BECAUSE I’M STILL NOT GONNA HAVE AND RAVE ABOUT THIS NON-SENSE! Just imagine the oil and the calories in that … that THING!

To everyone’s surprise, one Sunday morning, I proclaimed in the wee hours that I have decided to give the Baconator^® a try. Not because of weakness, no siree, but to once and for all prove to myself and to everyone that we should be steadfast in despising the madness caused by this … this THING! With a noble quest in mind, I was willing to sacrifice my then unclogged arteries for the good of all mankind, be the *gasps* guinea pig (*cough* bollocks *cough*), and savor the goodness, er, and live to tell soon after that I have proof that everything we’ve heard were only made to further hype this new product up. I felt that I could not get through this on my own so it was a good thing that Jen was also up for the challenge came dinner time. To cut the crappy side story short-er, the time and the place were set for our ultimate act of selflessness as we uttered the following brave words with conviction and honor: “Two Baconator Meals and, please, upgrade them with large soda and fries!“

You want to see how it looks like? If you are too scared to even look, here, I can hold your hand and let’s look at ‘em together. Everything’s gonna be all right. No need to be afraid. They’re just pictures. (Hover above the photos for a caption or click on them to view their descriptions at my flickr site)

Many are wondering how many calories there are in a Baconator^® meal. I’m afraid to calculate myself but based on a Wendy’s website, by inputing 1 Baconator^®, 1 Small Coke, and 1 Small Fries (on the premise that US sizes are bigger than local ones), it should total approximately 1,300 calories (shivers).

The verdict: I may not go at it again any time soon but this … this THING tasted really great (I hope I can say I was just pulling your leg here, but my tastebuds have a discerning taste that’s remarkably world class. Self-declared. True story.). At around P250 with an upgraded-to-large-sized soda and fries, its cost is quite steep compared to your average burger meal.

After all’s been said and shown, the more important question is, do you still want to try it? You know you want to. LOL

All photos in this post are proprietary to the author.
Taken using a Sony DSC-W300 in Manual at aperture f8.0
and shutter speed 1.3.

Happy New Year!!!

Fritz — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 05:45:16 +0000

I was going to render some cool After Effects animation sequence but I don’t know if I can finish it before New Year’s Eve. Here’s wishing one and all a more awesome 2009 as we bid the great 2008 adieu. Click on the image. You know you want to LMAO.

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Random shots using the Sony DSC-W300

Fritz — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:56:57 +0000

Went to Bulacan yesterday for a good friend’s wedding and got several photos to share with you guys. Since there’s tons to do at work, I figured, as an update, I’d share something light. You may click on the photos to see their larger versions in flickr.

The Pavillion at The Greenery

I have another shot of the same framing in flickr but at the original EV (brightness) setting. When I did this one, I lowered the W300′s to -1.0.

LOL at the keystone of this one. The place is serene and perfect, methinks, in setting the mood for wedding receptions.

No “Golden Hour” yesterday due to cloudy weather but still, the skies have a nice cast about them.

Fireworks Settings in action

I’ve never shown my photographs of aerial fireworks before since I fail miserably at the task: either I’m too late or the entire thing’s over exposed. The Sony DSC-W300 has this nifty Fireworks Scene preset and using it for the first time blew me away at the quality of the images. See for yourself below.

Lastly, my Ambitious Shot

Congratulations Weng & Weco. I’m sure you’ll spawn kids as restless but well brought up just like you guys. Go forth and multiply LOL.

All photographs in this post were taken using the Sony Cybershot DSC-W300. Also, thanks Paolo Mendoza of backlinemedia.com for the Flickr Pro account. You rock man! Cheers!

TMX 11.29.08: Best. Experience. Ever.

Fritz — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:57:40 +0000

When the invite said “Luck’s on Your Side,” the organizers of The Marlboro Experience (TMX) were dead serious. They made sure the participants were treated like VIPs: from the choice of a convening area (M Cafe in Greenbelt 2), dressed-up F150 transports, police escorts on the highway (man, I can sure get used with those), welcome committee wave, tour proper (with iPods as guide), the food, adrenaline pumping activities, and contest prizes because you can never go wrong with premium Ducati/Ferrari Gear (TM) and Marlboro (TM) items.

I never thought I’d ever see the inside of the plant let alone set foot inside the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas again. PMPMI has a world class manufacturing facility, yes, but they are not really that open for public visit AFAIK. Striding along the covered walk towards the event proper venue inside the plant somewhat made me choke on tears of happiness. I could have sworn I heard an instrumental version of “This Used To Be My Playground” play at the back of my head (HUHLOLOLOLOLOLZ!). To get this out, PM guys, it felt overwhelmingly great to meet you again (I’m referring to you Jen, Janice, Rosa, Monica, John, Eric, Eza, Roy, Alf, Moises, Lalaine, Mico, and KC)!

During dinner and back at the M Cafe, right when participants were given (yet again) another (final) memento (a limited edition wall-art), we were made to answer a questionnaire asking how the organizers could improve the program for future activities. I spaced out, thinking, are you kidding me?! You guys are penultimate when it comes to organizing the best in parties and events! I think I’ll forever look up to you guys and your flair for everything tasteful. And premium. Well done, PMPMI!

Now, for the photos. I’ll divide the gallery in two: Photos taken using my Nokia N82 and those taken using the Sony DSC-W300. I entered the plant and had to leave the Sony DSC-W300 at the gate so all I had with me is my trusty Nokia N82 which, if you already know me too well, is all I will ever need to be my old paparazzi extraordinaire self LOL.

From the Nokia N82:

Later on, I realized that since we were already outside the manufacturing facility, camera restrictions don’t any more apply so off to the claim counter I went and here are my shots using the Sony DSC-W300 camera.

If you follow the links for each of the photos, they are all available in 600×450 sizes. Grab away if you like but do not edit them in any way when reposting (snooty much? LOL).

Put together impeccable taste, premium, top-notch logistics, a great brand, and a team with foresight and unwavering passion, and the result could only be one of the best experiences ever to some lucky patrons. Thanks TMX! You made my Saturday! What a way to end the year!

In closing, lemme just reiterate for the record that the government prohibits the sale of cigarettes to minors. Also, Government Warning: Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to your Health.