For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you noticed last week that I have been playing around with a new editing plug-in to Lightroom and Photoshop named Topaz Glow. If you want to check out these shots, head on over to my Facebook Page. Topaz Glow brings out my creative and artistic side and can be used in both subtle and extreme ways. I have always been a photographer who likes to push my editing to the limits of realistic but not beyond them. I want the viewer of my photos to feel like they are seeing the subject in real life.
Most non-photographers don't realize that their cameras only capture photos in two dimensions, while our eyes see in three dimensions. That is why people are always disappointed in their images right out of the camera. In order to bring back the look of three dimensions, photographers use editing tools like Lightroom, Photoshop and third Party plug-ins like Topaz. I look at these plug-ins as new tools in my editing toolbox, each serving a particular purpose.
Take this photo of a stained glass from the Chapel of the Transfiguration in Grand Teton National Park. I processed it a while back, and it has been sitting in my "to be published" pile, always passed over for the blog. Why? With the editing tools that were available to me, all I could do with them is get the glass almost to three dimensions but not quite there. When I played around with Topaz Glow, I thought that I could bring a true stained glass look with it. Obviously, I am quite pleased with the result by the fact that it is now on my blog. Topaz Glow will occupy a permanent place in my toolbox.