Digital version of Orton technique

Manali'07
D80, 70-300mm

I was quite excited to see photographs of tulips in the last edition of Photo Life. One of the photograph was clicked using Orton techinique, a technique originated by a Michael Orton whereby a sharp transparency was mounted together with an out of focus one of the same view. And the result is a beautiful dream sequence.

And then I I decided to explore the digital equivalent. A lil bit of surfing and I found this. In summary this is what I did.

1. Open image
   
2. Duplicate the background layer (Right click on the background layer and choose duplicate) and name that layer Sharp
3. Create another duplicate of the background layer.
4. Change the Blending mode of the Sharp Copy to screen
5. With the Sharp Copy layer selected, right click and choose Merge Down
   
6. Right click on the Sharp layer, choose Duplicate and name this layer Out of Focus
7. On the Filter Menu, choose Blur - Gaussian Blur
   Depending on the resolution of the image you are using, the amount of blur needed will change.
   
8. Change the blending mode of the Out Of Focus layer to Multiply

Enjoy!