How It's Made - Police Line by Aloen D.art

View the original image here.
his photo makes good and subtle use of selective colorization.  The police line tape is not fully saturated, in fact it's barely saturated at all.  To acheive this Aloen D probably used 3 layers to get the job done.
One layer is the main image
The second layer is a layer filled with black, with a layer mode set to "color" with a layer mask applied to everything but the tape.  This would make everything but the tape black and white.
The final layer is the same as the previous layer, filled with black with a layer mode set to "color."  This image would not have a layer mask.  With this layer you now have control of how saturated the tape is.  simply adjust the opacity until you are satisfied with the result.
For more information on selective colorization, check out my how to convert color to black and white tutorial.

Gimp Keyboard Shortcuts

I was on Twitter earlier and someone mentioned that they were working on learning the keyboard shortcuts using Gimp.  I shared this link with him: http://www.keyxl.com/aaae27c/66/Gimp-Photo-software-keyboard-shortcuts.htm

I realized that I never shared this link before, so I wanted to take a second to make sure others knew about Gimp's keyboard shortcuts, especially since I habitually use them in my gimp video tutorials and occasionally forget to say what the shortcut is.

Photo Study: Road to Nowhere by Petera Oldeman

This photo is incredible.  The ominous feel that the fog and the color bring to the image just throw it over the top.  The curvy road makes the photo exciting.

If you can, try to imagine what this photo looked like before it's edits.  Now, try to think about when, where, and how the photo was taken.  Based on the shadows and the fog, it's pretty obvious this was taken early in the morning.  Odds are pretty good it was taken using a tripod or a monopod.
As I stare at the photo more, I ask myself "If I were to make the fog using GIMP, how would I do that?"  "How did they get that sepia tone?" and also "did they make exposure adjustments using gimp to bring out a bit of extra contrast in the grass and the road?  If so, what would be the best method of duplicating that in GIMP?  The curves tool?  an Overlay with a grayscale copy of the layer?"  There are several different ways to do the same thing, but all tools work a little differently.  You have to think about all of the possibilities.
This my friends, this is how you learn how to edit photos with Gimp.
The original photo can be seen here

Cool Gimp 2.7 Discovery - Tool Presets

I just stumbled on this blog post talking about a feature I didn't realize was in Gimp 2.7 that I thought was pretty exciting. Frankly I haven't really messed with Gimp 2.7 much yet, so this could easily be "old news" to the general public, but I thought I would share it regardless.  The post can be found here: Episode 170: Set the Presets!

For those of you who don't know, Gimp 2.7 is a preliminary version of the forthcoming Gimp 2.8, which is scheduled to come out in January of 2012.  Gimp 2.8 is loaded with new features that will make any user of Gimp giddy.  A lot of the noteable updates are some big interface changes, and a newer, much fancier foreground select tool.

If you're looking for some of the best Gimp tutorials for beginners, make sure to check out this site.

Photo-Editing Contest

PSDTuts+ is hosting a contest in celebration of their new PhotoDune service.  They say that they will select 3 winners for this competition, and here are the prizes:

• 1st Place will win $100 in PhotoDune Credits and a 1-year premium membership to Tuts+.
• 2nd Place will win $75 in PhotoDune Credits.
• 3rd Place will receive an Envato t-shirt.

PSD Tuts+ said this: "Your task is to use at least one of the three images below to create a photo manipulation. You are free to combine these images with assets available on the web or in your personal collection. We will judge your entries based on their creativity, execution, and by how many of the below images that you use."

The best part is this - nowhere in the blog post do they say you have to use Photoshop which to me means that I am free to use GIMP to create my entry. I've already got ideas flowing like crazy, and can't wait to enter. Are you entering?  If you need some help using Gimp, feel free to check out my Gimp Tutorials if you haven't already.

Click here to see the tutorial details.