First project for the new year - Ageing and distressing images

looking to develop ways of ageing and distressing images. 

This project came about as a result of a post on LinkedIn from Tony Brandstette, a photographer based in the Greater Boston area who posted an image called “going to Rosedale”. 

An autumnal suburban scene of a back alley, early evening, raining, stormy sky and an ominous glowing light in the background reflecting off standing water in the mid and foreground.

Since then he has sent me a copy of the raw image which he describes as a mundane shot that would not be too interesting but with this technique you can jazz it up.

Anyway this got me thinking about texture and pattern filters that could be used to enhance, for want of a better word, an ordinary or unexciting image. I looked at adobe filters and decided it would be interesting to develop some my self

Spent a good chunk of the day taking pictures of decay, rusted steel, lichen encrusted stone and weathered and decaying wood.

One of the many images from today, rust on the inside of an old mild steel tank used to block access to one of the tracks on Salisbury Plain.

I combined this with an old image from an earlier project (facade), initially made the image black and white but it seemed too harsh.

This is still in the playing stage but what do you think? 

Will be posting more experimental images over the coming weeks.