This weekend, I was on a mission to get outside and take some photographs, despite the 15 degree weather. I pulled on my hat and gloves, grabbed the camera bag, and drove East. I had intentions of finding some abandoned farm houses or barns, but ended up in a graveyard. Sinister? Perhaps. If you have never had the chance to photograph in a graveyard though, I suggest giving it a try before you knock it.

Since today’s post is “Mess-up Monday,” here’s one of the not so stellar shots from my trip.

Clearly my shutter speed was too quick for the amount of light outside. I was shooting in manual, but didn’t get setup properly before photographing this gravestone. Below are the steps I took in Photoshop to take this messup and make it something worth looking at.

1. I used the Levels functionality in Photoshop to brighten the photo

2. I cropped out the bright white section of sky in the top right.

3. I didn’t like the pink that was showing up in the gravestone, so I converted the image to monochrome by creating a Black & White layer using the “Maximum Black” setting.

4. I used the Patch Tool to get rid of the design to the left of the inscription. I drew around the design and made sure the “source” radio button was selected at the top, before dragging my selection to another area of the gravestone.

5. Finally, I decided to crop more of the image so the “Love Always” was front and center. Here’s the final version.

I love the texture of the gravestone in this photo. In fact, it would make a great pattern for Photoshop!

This week, I want to know…Have you ever photographed a graveyard? I would love to see your shots, so leave me a link in the comment below.