Changing the light

A couple of months ago, a friend and I went driving in the country near where she lives. She wanted to show me an abandoned church I'd never seen, among other things. "Don't you think it'd be the perfect place to buy and fix up for a wedding chapel?!" she asked me. I did at first. But then, when I'd gotten out of the car and walked around it to take the photos I'd wanted, there was a feeling I didn't like, either. Can't explain it. Maybe it was related to the emptiness, the abandonment. But it felt darker than that, too. I didn't want to spend as much time shooting as I'd imagined, after all. But I got some before I decided I wanted to abandon my project.

Turns out that was also the week I messed up the settings on my camera and everything I shot came out dark. Dark as in nearly unusable.

So today while looking for a very specific image for a website collaboration, I came across this photo of the church sillhouetted against the sky. I'd forgotten all about it. Looking at it for a while, wondering if I should dump the whole directory, I recalled that Photoshop tutorial I wrote about over here when I'd altered the photo of the old bridge in West Virginia. Decided I certainly couldn't ruin the shot, I might as well see what happened. Plus, I enjoyed that particular technique so much last time, I wanted to repeat it again.

This is what happened. You can click the image for a larger version.

I don't hate it. And it's a stark improvement over the lightless image with which I began. Maybe even enough of an improvement I can imagine people beginning their journey together there...

Photoshop Tutorial Here

Comments

[Dena]

I like the sky above it - looks spooky.

[Dad]

An old church is an interesting structure. In this photo which reveals only a little, some details can be seen.. The church could ave been built anytime in the first half of the 20th century, but the asbestos shingles probably date from the mid century, and could have been added as an upgrade, or could be part of the original structure. Any or all of this might have been paid for with bake and dinner sales, or there could have been enough income in the church's families to pay for it outright. Someone may pass the church often and recall memories from thier life, and grieve the deteriorating state of the church. Wow--a picture is indeed worth a thousand words!

Dad

[Melody]

Thanks Dena!

Dad, I think I know where I got my imagination from. :)