The Powder House building, near Prineville Reservoir State Park in Central Oregon, makes a great subject for photographs. This historic rock structure was once used to store gunpowder. It’s located next to a popular boat ramp on the reservoir.
I’ll be showing how I processed this picture three ways with Corel PaintShop Pro 2021. Prior to trying out the various effects, I increased the contrast, brightness, and white balance slightly.
The first two show the original and the same picture with a Retro effect. For this image I went to Effects>Photo Effects>Retro Lab>Surreal. This effect blurred the edges like a vignette. I thought this effect emphasized the door in the building. It looked like a portal to another place surrounded by misty fog.


The next two show the original and the same picture with a Time Machine effect. For this image I went to Effects>Photo Effects>Time Machine>Albumen. This monotone effect reflects a technique used in the 1850s-1890s. It works well when you’re trying to emphasize the history of a place. A picture such as this might have appeared in newspapers of the time.


The last two show the original Powder House building and the same picture with a Pencil effect. For this image I went to Effects>Art Media Effects>Pencil. I played around with a few of the settings for this effect. I increased the intensity and luminance. You can select a color to emphasize and I chose a dark tone to the left of the door. This effect sharpened the edges, softened the colors, and darkened the sky. It makes it into a unique work of art.


As mentioned in a May 2022 post about drought conditions, the Powder House Cove ramp is currently closed due to low water levels. It’s still a great place to go for a scenic drive.
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Thanks!
I always enjoy seeing different edits and the ‘image compare’ block is the perfect way to present them. I think the time machine is my favourite look for this shot 🙂
Thanks, Sarah! Yeah, that effect worked well for that photo. I really like using the image compare for this challenge. 🙂
My favorite is the monotone image. Nice work!
Thanks, Joe! That building looks good in a monotone format.