Powder House building: 1-to-3 Challenge

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.

One-to-Three Photo Challenge – June