Oak Leaf 1; © reserved 2009, Richard Lovison

Oak Leaf 2; © reserved 2009, Richard Lovison

The above two images, each taken from a different perspective, were another experiment using CombineZP. Each image was a merge of two images, each taken with the same exposure though with a different point of focus. The merges produced with CZP created images with a large depth of field.

The lighting used was a combination of natural room light and a bit of flash fill within a light box. I would have loved to experimented with some tungsten spots in a studio environment to create side and back lighting effects to add more depth.

Memories; © reserved 2009, Richard Lovison

I came across an article on Ed Vatza’s blog about a Photoshop technique — this one taught by Tony Sweet — that combined layers to create an interesting effect. In this case the original image was merged with another layer of the same image with a gaussian blur applied. It was rather simple to do and I thought might work well with an older image of mine taken of a dried rose. The lighting was a bit harsh in the original photo so I thought the softening effect might help and also create a more dreamy effect.

Thanks Ed, for sharing the technique.