Creative Playtime
Fins to the Left….
Leica M 240 w/ Macro Elmar M 90mm f/4 lens, Topaz Impressions: Cracked Fresco
During my last workshop (Grills & Mills) around Atlanta, I had a lot of time to photograph subject that I love, Grist Mills and rusty cars and trucks. It was a great time and I shot exclusively with my Leica M 240 and my various Leica prime lenses. It was a time of renal for me and I was in the creative zone.
Gresham’s Mill stone…
Leica M 240 w/ Summilux 50mm f/1.4 lens with Nik Analog EFEX Pro 2: Subtle Bokeh 2, for this image I desired a more realistic representation with slight blurring at the near and far edges.
Now back and having processed most of my images I decided to play a little bit with some creative post processing. Yes I still used the Nik filter set to get the images where I wanted them to be, but then I decided to do a little work with the new Topaz Impressions.
Topaz Impressions is a very good art filter that will generate effects that were made famous by several painters thru history. It was difficult choosing which filters that I liked the most and I spent a very long time playing with them all!
Topaz says of Impressions:
Impression helps make your photos more expressive by authentically turning them into art, the way a real painter would. Rigidly realistic photos sometimes leave less room for emotion, personal feeling, and story. Instead of just showing reality, take your viewers on a story by using Impression to capture emotion and feeling rather than details. This can make your work both more powerful and more personal.
Now, understand… I do NOT desire to copy the old masters, rather I wish to create something a little different from what I normally do with my images! Don’t you find that once in a while that you just get tired of doing the same thing over and over again with your work? I have found if you delve into artistic post processing once in a while that it leaves me refreshed and that I can more easily look at my work in a different light…
Oily…
Leica M 240 w/ Macro Elmar M f/4 90mm lens, Topaz Impressions: Cave Dweller 2
If you haven’t had a chance to play with this new filter I strongly suggest that you download the free trial and give it a try. You will NOT be disappointed with it!
Gresham’s Mill w/ Topaz Impressions.
Leica M 240 w/ Summilux 50mm f/1.2 lens, Topaz Impressions: Van Gogh 2
If you look at the image of Gresham’s Mill above, pay attention to the leaves of the trees an the rock under the flume. I was looking for a very impressionistic interpretation of them and the Van Gogh filter provided just enough to please me!
The Gas Cap…
Leica M 240 w/ Macro Elmar M f/4 lens, Topaz Impressions: Pointillism 1
This last image above was done in a fashion with the Pointillism filter to bring out a lot of harsh grain and structure. I wanted to enhance the effect of aging and rust. As you can see, the Topaz filter worked very well for this!
Mark Hilliard Atelier's Blog 
Hi Mark, I like what you’ve done with these images. Unfortunately, I can’t get the Impressions suite because my computer is a 32-bit and a 64-bit is what’s needed. I was supposed to be going on an outing tomorrow but it’s been cancelled. I think I’m going to take my computer tomorrow to a well known repair group to see if it can be converted. They’ll need to have it for about two days so that will mean I won’t be online during those days. Sharon
Well, it is time. You know most computers are 64 bit but run the 32 bit version of the OS. When you go to the store ask them about yours. If it is a laptop there is little you can do other than to replace it if it is indeed a 32 bit system. Let me know what happens.
Hi Mark,
I love looking through at you posts, but especially looking through your gallery.
Thanks Melissa! I hope your are doing well!