Civil War 2010 is over, at least for me. There is always next year. I uploaded the last of 85 images last night to my Civil War 2010 - the antique versions flickr set.

Its time consuming, but I like the results. My basic steps this year:

1 - In Lightroom apply the sepia hint preset from the Redrex Presets Collection. I liked this preset that lightened and desaturated the original.

2 - Desaturated about 25% more in Lightroom or after moved to Photoshop.

3-Opened in Photoshop and applied Topaz Adjust (most images) or Topaz Detail. This increased local contrast, added detail and often gave a slight HDR look to the image.

4 - Applied a rough border.

Flickr Civil War 2010 - the antique version

My ears are still ringing, and it's not New Years'. During the fifth Civil War reenactment battle Sunday, I sat too close to those booming Rebel cannons. Smartest move was moving. While walking around I shot a couple of good images.

Not that I needed more images. I had already shot hundreds. As proof I just finished uploading about 175 images to flickr.

2010 Civil War day one

2010 Civil War day two

This year I attended both days of the 2010 The Blue & The Gray Civil War reenactment in Moorpark. In 2008 and 09 I went on Sundays and missed the Saturday evening battles held after dark.

This year was the first. Boy was it dark. I did get the above image when a musket was fired just off camera.

Image below was from Sunday first battle. Union artillery was placed in a corn field.

With so many images, I made a decision to do a first edit, basic color, cropping, etc and upload to flickr. Tomorrow I will go back and start applying techniques giving some of these images an 1860s look.

Enjoy

This weekend is the 10th annual Civil War Reenactment in Moorpark, California. I'll be there. I pulled several images from last year's event and processed through PaintMee, SketchMee and ToonPaint iPhone apps. The PaintMee ones turned out best and I posted two, above and below.

I uploaded a dozen to my 2009 Civil War flickr set. More next week.

Sunday I took my wish list and visited Santa in Oxnard. Isn't August the perfect time to deliver your list? Gives him lots of time to build and deliver.

Of course this Santa and I have some history — some 40 years. He's the twenty foot tall Santa that once rested building at Carpinteria's Santa Clause Lane. I drove by him for the first time in 1970. So when Santa Clause Lane was closed and bulldozed - Santa managed to survive. He now is the cornerstone of a small park overlooking the Ventura Freeway in Oxnard.

So I visited, took my images, gave him a diet coke salute and headed up the road.

Flickr images

Roadside America.com history on Santa

From my Lightroom files - 1984 sunset with fishermen and seagull at the harbor in Oxnard.

1982 photo from front seat in open cockpit aircraft over Santa Paula.

Two weeks ago I took a Sunday afternoon ride on the Fillmore & Western Railroad. Very relaxing. The train left Fillmore at noon and took about 45 minutes to reach Santa Paula, traveling at a slow clip of about 15 miles per hour. The train stays in downtown Santa Paula, then returns with one stop for shoppers at the Loose Caboose Garden and Gift Emporium on the east side of Santa Paula. Arrival back in Fillmore is about 3;30 p.m..

I had over an hour to walk around downtown Santa Paula getting some lunch and plenty of photos.

The train runs most Saturdays and Sundays from downtown Fillmore. You must check the schedule on their web site to confirm they are running on the day you want to go. This Weekend Scenic Excursion trip that I took is just one of many trips Fillmore & Western run. The company also is involved in movie, TV and video production, so some rail equipment may not be available.

Cost is $24 for adults with discounts for seniors and children. Fillmore & Western Railroad web site www.fwry.com.

Check out the 35 images posted in my flash photo gallery.



Fillmore & Western Railroad engine given antique look. I shot the engine with my Oktomat camera, took one of the eight frames and converted to a grainy toned image.