Feel Free to Augment Your Reality

Dogs,2003,  and a Bridge, 2021 ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

 

The folks at Skylum Software, just released a buttload of new extensions for their Luminar Neo editor. Some practical (I'll get to those in a future post), and some fun and creative. Background Removal AI falls solidly in the latter category. Take the above image for example.  If you've got your readers on and can read the small print you'll see the dogs' picture was taken 19 years ago at a dog camp in Asheville. The bridge was shot last Thanksgiving at the Nature Conservancy's Iron Bridge Conservation Area northwest of Silver City, New Mexico.

This screenshot from the Luminar Neo desktop shows the steps (though not in process order) I took to get from there to here... upper right is the original Nikon D1H raw file from 2003. Bottom right is the background removed, with a single click and a bit of fringe work around the ears, Bottom left converted to a png file with a transparent background, where it is then ready to be inserted into another background. Notice that I needed to flip the dogs so the light direction was consistent. Also a single click. Spent about 10 minutes total. Obviously more can be done, but I wanted to get the news out.

I used a couple of the other new extensions when putting this image together, including NoiselessAI, to remove digital noise in the dog image caused by the small 19 year old Nikon sensor, and UpscaleAI, to increase resolution for the same reason.

If your interest is piqued, hit the links at the top of the post, or the vertical ad on the right sidebar. If you're buying, don't forget to use the discount code: DanGauss to potentially save $10.

Fine print:

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

Luminar Neo Evolution Continues... Better Than Ever

 Here's the official tease. I'll have more on the new extensions very, very soon. Or hit the ad on the right.

Customizing My Old Images. Because I Can

Cody, Nebraska 2008. ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Back in 2008, we embarked on one of our longest trips in the Hare-Brained Express, leaving Ann Arbor, where Margaret's brother installed a new radiator in the Bounder, for the west coast and back again. That trip was chronicled extensively on this blog back then, and you can relive the adventure by clicking on "2008" > "August" in the blog history in the right sidebar. But, if you don't want to go through that, here's the graphic overview...  

About a third of the way home, on the northern portion of the loop, we had to hit a small town in the southwest corner of South Dakota to renew our driver licenses, as we were (air quotes) "South Dakota Residents" for purposes of mail delivery, vehicle registrations, voting, etc. When that task was completed we dropped down into Nebraska and stopped for the night in a quaint little town called Cody. The city park there had RV hookups for $5 a night. It also had this view of a beautiful prairie railside grain elevator and water supply. I took lots of pictures. The picture leading off this post has been edited with, you guessed it, Luminar Neo. The original looked like this:

Yeah, a nice tree, but the main subject is the elevator, and the parts of the tree I left frame it perfectly, especially after switching to landscape from portrait. I also dialed up the warmth for a more "golden hour" look.

But, what if we weren't there in August of 2008. What if I wanted you to believe it was, instead, late October of 2008? Using the Landscape and Color tools, and some masking it's easy to bring on an Autumnal look to this image, (can't you just feel the frost in the air?):

Cody, Nebraska 2008 "Fall Edit"  ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Lastly, maybe we weren't there at all. Maybe we just saw the image in a photography gallery somewhere. An image by the alternate universe Dan Gauss? Multiverse of Madness, indeed! Well, if it's artsy, it's gotta be black and white, no? More Luminar Neo tools, of course.

Cody Nebraska 2008 (Black and White Edit)  ©Daniel Gauss/Shot On Site

Give you some ideas? Why not try it soon.  The Halloween Special Offer expires soon! And remember my Coupon Code: DANGAUSS to save $10 (not sure if it works with promo prices, but it wouldn't hurt to try!)

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these, I may receive a small commission at no increased cost to you. Thanks.

It's Great.. To Be.. A Michigan Wolverine! It's Great.. To Be.. A Michigan Wolverine! Etc. Etc.

 Also, it's good to be an "Arrogant Ass from Ann Arbor" once again.

See ya next year, "Little Brother".

Oh yeah. My alma mater tightened its hold on the top spot in the NCAA Division II poll...  A good weekend all around. Drinks on me!

Just kidding.

About the drinks.