Rendering the Light



The Captivating BMW C1 Scooter, originally uploaded by jjvornov.

Here’s another distracted pedestrian trying to figure out where that guy is pointing the camera.

In the original capture, the light was uninspiring and local contrast effects just weren’t moving the image into anything interesting looking. I pulled down my copy of Versace’s “Welcome to Oz”, reduced the image to 8 bit, and fired up Photoshop’s Filter:Render:Lighting Effects filter which Vincent uses in the book.

I created some stage-lit hotspot effects in the image which creates more visual interest. Once you know they’re there, its a little too obvious for my taste, but I’ve found that it’s part of my learning curve for these cinematic images. I push things beyond where they really ought to be to stay believable and then pull them back enough so that they are present but less obvious.

Author: James Vornov

I'm an MD, PhD Neurologist who left a successful academic career on the Faculty of The Johns Hopkins Medical School to develop new treatments in Biotech and Pharma. I became fascinated with how people actually make decisions based on the science of decision theory and emerging understanding of how the brain works to make decisions. My passion now is this deep explanation of what has been the realm of philosophy, psychology and self help but is now understood as brain function. By understanding our brains, I believe we can become happier, more successful people.

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