© 2006 Donncha O Caoimh

Rusted and abandoned

An old oil drum stands on the quay at Ballycotton rusting away as the exposed metal is beaten down by the elements.

Technique: I increased the saturation of the reds to bring out the rust of the drum. I desaturated other colours so the drum would stand out.
I then duplicated the layer and darkened the top one to bring out the clouds and sky before using a layer mask to expose the ground on the bottom layer. After that a simple gradient at the top of the image provided a nice dark effect and finally, I dodge and burned the rust until I was happy. Was that useful?

I used CocoViewX to view my work directory from my Linux box on my Macbook. I was surprised that Finder didn’t display thumbnails and I didn’t want the iPhoto heavyweight when all I wanted was to know which image was which.

16 Comments

  1. Flickr: Made You Look
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 1:21 am | #

    Made You Look has posted a comment:

    Great shot.

    i love the angle.

    and the forbodeing sky is a great backdrop.

    Rusted and abandoned

  2. Flickr: myriapod
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 2:16 am | #

    myriapod has posted a comment:

    niiiiiiiiice

    Rusted and abandoned

  3. Mary
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 12:41 pm | #

    Hi Donncha, its a brilliant photo. Amazing colours. Where was it taken??

  4. Posted October 25, 2006 at 1:43 pm | #

    Mary – it’s taken in Ballycotton. For the life of me I could not remember the name of the place. I had to ask Jess later and she figured it out as soon as I said “it’s the place with the lighthouse on the island” :)

  5. Posted October 25, 2006 at 5:10 pm | #

    I think the post process steps are good but then I usually do the same thing when I post photos, at least ones where I did something neat in Photoshop.

  6. Flickr: carrigman
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 7:12 am | #

    carrigman has posted a comment:

    Excellent!

    Rusted and abandoned

  7. Flickr: ONE/MILLION
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 11:49 am | #

    ONE/MILLION has posted a comment:

    Keen eye and great perspective!

    http://www.flickr.com/groups/1-2-3/

    Rusted and abandoned

  8. Flickr: Hans van Reenen alias Heimatiater
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 11:54 am | #

    Hans van Reenen alias Heimatiater has posted a comment:

    Excellent shot. Great angle and depth.

    3-2-1

    Rusted and abandoned

  9. Flickr: franzliv
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 11:54 am | #

    franzliv has posted a comment:

    Score 7/10 (from the Score Me! group)

    Rusted and abandoned

  10. Flickr: atranswe
    Posted October 25, 2006 at 11:57 am | #

    atranswe has posted a comment:

    Great shot!

    Score _7,5_/10 (from the Score Me! group)

    Rusted and abandoned

  11. Flickr: DesignShots
    Posted October 26, 2006 at 12:03 pm | #

    DesignShots has posted a comment:

    I like the wide angle, I think that it gives great perspective. Not to mention you really capture the texture of the rust very well. Score 9/10 (from the Score Me! group)

    Rusted and abandoned

  12. Flickr: Sirber
    Posted October 26, 2006 at 12:08 pm | #

    Sirber has posted a comment:

    nice rust!

    123

    Rusted and abandoned

  13. Flickr: gainesp2003
    Posted October 26, 2006 at 12:18 pm | #

    gainesp2003 has posted a comment:

    I like the difference in saturation between the foreground and background. Also very nice composition, not only artistically but every element supports the others – the drum and netting in the foreground go with the fishing boats, bay, and coastal town in the background. Nice!

    Score 10/10 (from the Score Me! group)

    Rusted and abandoned

  14. Flickr: danielgreene
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 3:55 am | #

    danielgreene has posted a comment:

    This would be good for the RUSTY & CRUSTY pool!

    Rusted and abandoned

  15. Flickr: xeer
    Posted October 31, 2006 at 4:33 am | #

    xeer has posted a comment:

    Thanks Daniel for the suggestion, added it!

    Rusted and abandoned

  16. Flickr: David Reis
    Posted June 18, 2009 at 5:21 am | #

    Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Oil Drums, and we’d love to have this added to the group!

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