AFTER Image – click to embiggen
I am excited to finally have time to enter into the lovely Stacy Fischer’s After Before Friday 31 Challenge where we all use the same image, some fabulous rusted old trucks captured by Emilio Pasquale who I met in the One Four challenge.
Post Processing Steps:
– the before image had basic processing in LR – changed to daylight white balance, tweaked highlights contrast vibrance and clarity a bit
– was cropped at top and bottom and also had perspect adjustment applied
Jumping over to PS
-the after image has the trucks processed in Nik Color Efex with a Bleach Bypass and added detail and then a sepia toning added
– next add the US map layer and then it was colour adjusted to the same sepia tone
– created a mask for the map layer and brushed through around the edges of the car
– finally a grunge texture added to aged the whole image added in and blended with overlay mode and opacity at 63% – just enough to age it and even out the tones across the whole image
Its my first go at the AB Challenge and I am a bit nervous seeing as I recently enrolled in the Photoshop Artistry Fine Art Grunge course and this is my first REAL go at actually using the techniques. A month ago I didn’t know how to do ANY of these techniques and I wanted a way of portraying both the age of the old trucks and their unique US heritage.
BEFORE Image after basic Lightroom processing – click to embiggen
Thoughts, Feedback, Tips, Tricks and Comments all welcome!
Learning to See Light 
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I think it was a brilliant idea to put the map there! Fantastic!
Thanks Max, I had a lot of ideas around the whole Route 66 thing that referenced it more obviously but they didn’t pan out. It was hard to find good quality images to legitmately use for free 🙂
I love what you did. The map and sepia tone are just perfect.
Thanks Mary, was my first time with this challenge and I admit to being pretty nervous as to how it would be received so I appreciate you dropping by and commenting 🙂
Ouuu, I love it!
Hey PJ, glad to hear it, I’m pretty pleased with it myself 🙂
Great idea to have a map as the background. Wonderful post processing job. 🙂
Thanks Cee, I tried several different concepts but this worked the best. My PS course has taught me so very much!
Very clever! I love it!
Thanks Laura, really appreciate you dropping by to say so!
😀
Wow! What a transformation. I love it too! 🙂
Hey Beth, yes it was a bit of a radical choice, so I am really pleased people liked it, and enough to drop in and comment too 🙂
Gorgeous, well done!
Thanks Pike, really pleased to hear that!
Brilliant work. The map and the truck are wonderful together, we get the whole Route 66 feel.
Funny you should say that, my original concept was Route 66 but I couldn’t find any high quality images I could use for free, but I could get this older style map, so I am really pleased that you saw that in my image 🙂
Very Cool! Love the grain you have got on the trucks too!:-)
Thanks Katie, the grain is part of the final grungey texture layer that went on top, I liked how it came out to 🙂
Wonderful pp !
Great Idea ! Well done 1
Ciao ciao
Max
Thanks Max 🙂
Hey Stacey – your image is a real eye catcher!!
Wonderful processing and the map was inspired.. another fun challenge 😀
Thanks Robyn, you *know* I couldn’t have done it without the practice put in on your One Four Challenge 🙂
😀😀 its fabulous Stacey!
Just love the direction you’re going with your new skills.
Our Challenge has helped us both 😜
Its helped a lot of people, before I did that I would NEVER have been brave enough to show my experiments to the world.
Lol… I know exactly what you mean!!
I had so much experimenting I wanted to do… and now its like having permission 😜
I didnt have the experimenting, I was in some ways afraid, but yes you did give me permission and everyone was so lovely it made me braver 🙂
Thats awesome to hear Stacey!! 😃😃
What a brilliant idea to use the mapping to make a advert style compilation. I must admit as I was looking through the renditions yours was one that stood out immediately.
Thankyou, Im not sure what you mean about the advert but thats OK 🙂 Im glad it stood out in a good way, it was my first go at this challenge and I was quite nervous.
Advert is my term for advertising. Lol. Just saw that part of your comment.
Really great idea to create a composite. The picture really has an old american poster feel, teying to sell trucks that travel across america.
I don’t know the ads you are referring to, but I’m glad I struck a chord of remembrance, thanks Ben
What you achieved is amazing and I actually like my initial image now. With talent like yours you have no reason to ever feel nervous. I never heard of that grunge course you mentioned but now I want to enroll! Thank you for taking the time to play! 🙂
Wow Emilio, strong words and thanks 🙂 I’m nervous because I am going in a completely new creative direction, and its a bit scary 🙂
This is the course Im doing – http://fineartgrunge.com/grungecanvas/ and its teaching me so much about PS that I had no idea was possible 🙂
That was a great idea to put a map behind the trucks and to make the whole thing look aged!
Nancy
Thanks Nancy, my original concept was Route 66 but couldn’t find any good images available for free use
Stacey, when I opened your image in your email I was blown away! Absolutely fantastic idea. And to read that you didn’t know any of these skills only a month ago – wow, wow, wow! You clearly have a wonderful eye 🙂 Inspired post-processing. I’m so glad you got over your (unneeded) nervousness and shared this with all of us!!
LOL thats a lot of wows 🙂 No I really didnt have any of these skills, the Photoshop Grunge course was purchased just before Xmas and I havent even done half of it yet but as you can see learned HEAPS 🙂
Due to my student workload I may not always be able to participate in other AB but I will when I can. I really enjoyed this one with the same image, so interesting to see the different variations from people and I learned some new things. Was well worth the nervousness!
I completely understand your time constraint, Stacey. I oftentimes run short on time with the ABF regular posts!
Oh my, I am so impressed. This is wonderfully imaginative and although you just recently started to learn new stuff, it couldn’t look this good without your natural creativity and talent. Way to go!