Photoshop - The ageing process.
One form of image manipulation I do use quite a lot is that to produce the ageing of an image.
This however is not normally randam thinking - I tend to have the final image in mind before I even shoot it!
I spent two years as a student learning to do by chemical and dodging means what I can now do with a click of button. In those days, and hey is it really that long ago - sepia toned paper and cold tea were popular techniques - "flashing" the enlarging paper for different contrast ranges, careful dodging of particular areas of the image - a nylon stocking over the camera or enlarging lens for soft focus - or lace and similar materials over the enlarging paper. Large grain was acheived by using super sensitive film often developed in a print rather than a film developer.
Those were the days!!
So to the images above - as you can see they have a dated look about them, even though all were shot this year. It is a great way to introduce charactor and range into a shot - which is really what my work is all about.
The skill is not to overdo it - everytime you use a technique like these - justify it - and if the pictures work then why not use it?
You have to judge for yourself....