off the beaten path

So, what is this photograph all about?

Well, if you live in the Flint Hills of Kansas, you will recognize the image as the Chase County Courthouse, built in 1873, which is located in Cottonwood Falls, south of Emporia, north of Wichita, on Highway 77, almost dead center in the Flint Hills and near nothing else.

I took the photograph Saturday, late afternoon, while returning from Emporia to Wichita with my son Will. The courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Kansas in continuous use. It is a great example of a French Renaissance style building. Coincidentally, it looks like my grandmother's house in Graffigny-Chemin.



But, I digress. The photograph is altered, just look at the trees on the right of the courthouse. Use the magic wand to delete the sky. Then, use the magic wand again in the tree branches of the top layer to delete additional pixels to improve the image. I have added in a new sky with a new layer which is below the courthouse using fireworks. Not perfect, but good enough.

To do this, you need to create a new layer in fireworks. The process is easier in photoshop, but I am working in fireworks, so deal with it. There are two images. The top layer is the courthouse and the second image and second layer is the sky background. In the top layer, the courthouse, use the use the magic wand tool to highlight the grey sky. Delete or clear the selected pixels. Now, go to the second image and copy this image into a second layer. If you have the courthouse as the top layer you are done.

I still need to work on the trees.