LR Creech Chalk Portrait 1971

The story of a Portrait 30 years later of Leonard R. Creech, Sr.

Leonard R Creech, Sr. had his portrait made at North Hills Mall in 1971 by an artist named Kadisch using color chalk. I have heard that Pops did not like the portrait and stored it in the back of his closet for years. He gave it to Carolyn who gave it to me. Carolyn said Pops had been fishing on Kerr Lake a day or two before the seating for the Portrait. His face was a little red from the day on the lake. The artist emphasized the Sun/Wind Burn Reds. This is the aspect I heard Pops did not like.

30 years later I took a picture of the portrait with a Nikon CoolPix 5000 5MPixel Camera on a Tripod, Manual White Balance, Manual Focus, JPEG Fine, Auto Exposure using Spot Metering, and used Nikon Best Shot Selection (BSS) to reduce camera shake. I used three (3) Ultra-Bright Florescent 20W 6400°K lights one each at 45° direct from the side and one in front shaded by a diffuser. I took several pictures and liked DSCN4827.jpg the best. Then I edited the picture in PhotoShop Elements 2.0 to look most like the original by adjusting levels (+L) and then tried to reduce the sun/wind burn by increasing Hue and reducing Saturation (–S) of the red areas of the face with Sun/Wind Burn. Here are the results of the editing:

Unedited picture other than cropping:
• DSCN4827 Pops.JPG

Edited for slight Level adjustment (manual) plus Saturation Reductions 20-40%:
• DSCN4827 Pops +L.jpg Edited for moderate Levels
• DSCN4827 Pops +L-S20.jpg Edited Levels, Saturation reduced 20%
• DSCN4827 Pops +L-S40.jpg Edited Levels, Saturation reduced 40%

Edited for extreme Level adjustment (automatic):
• DSCN4827 Pops ++L.jpg

Edited for Brightness:
• DSCN4827 Pops +lt.jpg

Edited for Saturation Reductions 20 & 40%:
• DSCN4827 Pops -S20.jpg Saturation reduced 20%
• DSCN4827 Pops -S40.jpg Saturation reduced 40%

The above edits were applied to the entire drawing. Not really satisfied, I tried removing just the Sun/Wind Burn Reds. I selected just the Sun/Wind Burn Reds of his face (using the magic wand) and adjusted to a more tanned look (using color adjustment to increase Hue and decrease Saturation). I also adjusted the yellow shirt to a darker color, plus adjusted some of the pinks. Then I did a slight level adjustment (manual) to the entire drawing. See the following results. I liked this one the best.
• DSCN4827 Pops +L-Reds.jpg Many selects and edits + slight Levels Adjustment

I also converted to Black and White. I like this picture also:
• DSCN4827 Pops +L BW.jpg Edited slight Level adjustment (manual)

What do you think? Do you think Pops would like one of these better?

William H. Creech, January 10, 2005