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A Guide to Creative Filter and Effects (pdf) by Denise Ippolito, edited by Arthur Morris
My foreword pretty much says it all:
“Denise Ippolito is about as creative, as hardworking, and as dedicated a photographer as you will ever come to know. And over the past fourteen months I have come to know her quite well. Her creativity is—as you will come to see as you are reading her Filter Guide—totally amazing. She can look at an average image, a simple snapshot, heck, even a bad photograph, and in seconds know exactly how to turn it into a piece of art using this filter or that effect. And then do just that in minutes. And most of the time she is working with the beautiful images of flowers and birds that she is so good at creating.
To quote our mutual friend, Kerry Perkins, one of Denise’s co-moderators on the BPN Out of the Box Forum where she has worked tirelessly helping other to improve their photography for more than two years, “First off, I want to say that the Filter Guide is an amazing work. There is so much information and so many wonderful images that I am just blown away that you managed to get it all together in one document! Wonderful work Lady D!”
Denise has worked incredibly hard on “A Guide to Creative Filters and Effects” and at the same time, worked incredibly hard at improving her writing skills. I congratulate her here on two jobs well done.” arthur morris/Indian Lake Estates, Florida. January 30, 2011
Below is a list of the filters and effects that are detailed in the Filter Guide. Filters with the ($) symbol require a separate purchase. Most of the others are Photoshop filters and one is a free download. The Filter Guide includes links to all available free trial downloads so that you can try before you buy. Though–as above–many of the filters can be found in various versions of Photoshop, most folks–including me before I edited this guide–have no clue that they exist and no clue as to how to use them. Each detailed tutorial section is written in a clear, concise, simple, easy to follow style that can be followed even by someone opening up Photoshop for the first time
- Topaz Simplify, Clean, & BuzSim Filter ($)
- Flaming Pear Filter (including Swerve ($), Twist ($) & Vein-a free download)
- Fractalius (including Denise’s Soft-Fix preset creation) ($–Windows only)
- Adding Texture (Photoshop)
- NIK Color Efex Pro including Midnight Filter ($)
- Omni Lighting (Photoshop)
- Pinch Filter (Photoshop)
- Twirl Filter (Photoshop)
- Ripple Filter (Photoshop)
- Radial Blur (Photoshop)
- Find Edges Filter (Photoshop)
- Orton Effect (Photoshop)
- Blank Canvas Creations! (Photoshop)
- The Mixer Brush
- The New Paste Special Option in CS-5 (Photoshop)
- DAP ($)
- Polar Coordinates and Mini-Worlds (Photoshop)
- Holiday Lights Creations (Photoshop)
- Snap Art 2 Impasto Filter ($)
- Creating Composites (Photoshop)
- Creating Your Own Brush Presets (Photoshop)
- Using Blend Modes Creatively
- Using Layer Masks and Inverse Layer Masks Creatively (CS versions of Photoshop)
- Kaleidoscopes (Free Plug-in, Windows only)
- Combinations of all of the above!
You can order your copy of “A Guide to Creative Filter and Effects” for $38 right now by calling 863-692-0906, by sending a PayPal to birdsasart@verizon.net or birdsasart@att.net, or from the BAA On-line Store here. Be sure to visit Denise’s blog here.
Enjoy Denise’s image gallery below. Which is your favorite? And why?
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| Roseate Spoonbill, Fractalius Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Front yard Snow Storm with Denise’s Fractalius Soft-fix preset applied Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Brown Pelican with vine, Topaz Simplify Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Fonthill Castle, Mini-World (Polar Coordinates) Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Great Egret Chick, Fractalius Glow 100 Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Orchid Pinched & Twirled Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Great Black-backed Gull immature with feather with Denise’s Fractalius Soft-fix preset applied Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
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| Tulip with Pinch Filter Image Copyright 2011/Denise Ippolito Photography |
Sherman, Thank you so much. I appreciate the kind words.
The Snow Storm photograph looks as though it is an oil painting. It gives me the sense of sitting by a fireplace and looking at this beautiful scene through a window instead of having to endure this brutal summer! Thanks for he great vision and feeling.
Pat, Thank you for your very nice comment. I appreciate it.
Raymond, So nice of you to make such kind comments. Thank you. It means a lot to me.
Very, very nice!! In particular, the snow scene is really awesome! It looks like it should in real life…cold and windy but with a much softer touch!! My next favourite is the the first one, the Spoonbill! I like the way it ‘fits” on the background and the ‘definite’ emphasis the reddish outline gives it – also how more defined the body looks too along with the wings. The Egret is my next favourite ….the hungry look on it’s face and the colouring – also the way the feathers are ‘individualized’ and wispy and look soft against the black background!!
Absolutely awesome!!! Thanks Denise…wonderfully creative! and inspiring :)!
I’m particularly enamored of the snow scene. You get the feeling of ice and wind as well as blowing snow. It makes me feel cold just looking at it!
M
Phil, Thanks for your thoughts, I appreciate them. I must have been typing my response when you posted:).
Andrew, Thank you for your more than kind words. I appreciate them very much.
Robert, Thank you very much. It’s greatly appreciated.
Hi,
They’re all good in different ways but favourite is the snow scene as the effect gives the essence of being in a snow storm; more so than a straight photo could, but also more than a painting as it feels more “real”. This one and also the orchid, (which is brilliant in it’s simplicity of colour and form}, could go on a wall as both are thought-provoking and contemplative.
I like the watercolour effect on the pelican and gull, along with the items in their beaks making you think about their lives.
I find the spoonbill a bit odd as it seems some sort of weird cross between a bird and a pteradactyl due to the ‘plucked’ look. It would work well in a fantasy landscape.
The chick and castle are good subject choices but there are lots around.
The tulip is just pink, pastel and not me; sorry!
I’m always appreciative of what people can do with filters as I can only mess mine up whereas my g/f has the sort of mind like Denise that enables her to make interesting art from photos.
We’ve had snow a few times recently; a rare event, so the snow scene is great.
Thanks Arthur, I’ve dropped in and out of your site over the last few years so now is a good time to say thanks for your site.
Beautiful work Denise.
Arthur, picking a favorite here is quite difficult, if not impossible. Denise’s work is wonderfully creative and very inspiring too. However, the Fonthill Mini-World still blows me away! Thanks to Denise and yourself I discovered Fractalius and the blur guide was wonderful so I will definitely be getting this filter guide also.
Becky, Thank you for your kind comments, I appreciate them.
All wonderful. I especially like the Brown Pelican with vine. But I also love the front yard snow storm. Being a Minnesotan, we have had more than our share of snow this year, but I still find the image compelling and very artistic!