iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

No lie detected. I’m so used to processing my images in Lightroom, it has been a bumpy and intimidating ride to attempt to learn and understand Darktable. It’s quite the rush when all the pieces finally click.

Thank you! It’s been an interesting learning experience with a pretty steep, but not too steep, learning curve.

I just finished another one. This one took me two days to finish. There was a lot of dust and hair on the photo, which was my fault. I didn't make sure the scanner glass was clean before I started. Oops. 543 retouches later and one application crash, I think it's finally done.

This is my current workflow that I mostly pulled from here: darktable.info/en/getting-s... If you have any pointers, I'm open to suggestions. Happy processing! 📷🎞️

Glad I am not the only one trying to learn how to do this using Darktable. My dad gave me a couple photos to scan and I decided to try my hand at restoring the faded color. It was also a good excuse for me to actually learn to use DT. This is what I was able to come up with.

Vanessa Gillings @vanessagillings.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Reposted by Drew Stanton

Happy September! Featuring some of my art that makes me think of this time of year 🌿 #kidlitart #watercolor #gouache

watercolor and gouache painting of a blonde girl and a frog holding a lantern meeting in a golden wood

moody watercolor and gouache painting of a woman in a sweater, blanket and cloak holding a bell against a floral background

gouache painting of a coyote holding a zither sitting atop a rock in a mossy forest

watercolor and gouache painting of a girl in a red sweater and blue gingham dress sitting beneath a mushroom, surrounded by blackberry brambles

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Martin Tomsky @mtomsky.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Just a relaxing camping trip in the woods, nothing sinister here. Nothing at all. www.martintomsky.com/shop/campfire #art #illustration #woodwork #camping

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Damian Ward @damianward.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

An image from back in February that got left behind, so here it is today. #photography #monochrome #blackandwhite #bnw

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Eleonor Piteira @eleonorpiteira.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Thorin, King Under the Mountain 👑 (2020) #fanart #thehobbit #illustration

An illustration by Eleonor Piteira of Thorin Oakenshield (from The Hobbit) with closed eyes as he clutches the arkenstone in one hand.

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Your work showed up in my feed and there was something strangely familiar about it. I scrolled through your work and I found out why. Your artwork lives on my bookshelf. This might be a sign for me to return to Mid-World soon.

Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Hi. 👋🏻 I disappeared from Bluesky for seven months and the amount of incredible artists I have discovered just today is wild! Keep creating! 🎨

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Jess @jesserintaylor.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Really wanted to draw foliage and cloth folds together again but thought of a silly narrative to go along with it… when the harpies attack! Graphite on paper

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Jess @jesserintaylor.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Took a bit of a break from drawing, was able to come back with a tree drawing. I found this tree standing with its rock in Cannock Chase Forest. Lots of beautiful ancient oaks still hanging around there and summertime is really beautiful in England, it’s hard not to draw it Graphite on paper

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Annie Stegg Gerard @anniestegg.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Wishing you a spooktacular (almost) Halloween! You can find prints available at Gallery Gerard, and the original piece is currently on display at @ixarts.bsky.social all weekend.⁠ ⁠ "The Woodland Harvest" 12x16 inches, oil on board⁠ ⁠ #oilpainting #magic #opossumart #blackcatart #spookyseason

The Woodland Harvest by Annie Stegg Gerard depicts a mother opossum carrying a basket of woodland treats, joined by her four children, a black cat clutching a pumpkin, and a pair of toads making their way to a festive autumn feast.

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Dominik Mayer @dominikmayerart.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

The King in Red and Yellow. Which colours next?

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Dominik Mayer @dominikmayerart.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

This painting is now available on Patreon! I opened 150 slots for a brand new print tier! Link in bio!

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Damian Ward @damianward.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

Golden Sea, Buckinghamshire 2016. #photography #Landscape #landscapehotography

An image of a field of golden barley stretching out like a sea. © Damian Ward 2016.

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Deborah Parkin @deborahparkin.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

The curlews arrived this morning- woke up to hear them outside my window - just the best sound & feeling 🤎 Print: tea toned cyanotype on Japanese paper.

A small tea toned cyanotype print of a curlew on a wall. The curlew is to the left of the image & turned to the side - you can see light on its back & its long curved beak. You can see a hand holding this print. The colour of the print is brown, black & cream.

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

I was just talking to someone yesterday about how I have never had the opportunity to shoot reversal film. The richness and depth of color in this image are exactly what I was trying to communicate to them. This makes me want go buy some right now!

Samirah @samirahsteinmeyer.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Reposted by Drew Stanton

Hello! I'm Samirah and I just joined Bluesky a few days ago. I've been making nature inspired functional pottery in a range of styles for 13 years. Here are photos of past work. Recent work incorporates regional rocks and minerals into my clays and glaze. #portfolioday #ceramics #pottery

A close up of a sculpted porcelain skeleton with her hand on her skull. Embedded in clay that was sculpted to resemble a rocky, mossy surface.

Several desert inspired ceramic mugs wheel thrown using a tan clay with the lower exterior unglazed and featuring sculpted flowering cacti. The upper exterior is glazed in a sky blue.

My hand holding a porcelain mug with a sculpted, glazed dung beetle (and a ceramic ball of dung behind the beetle). The mug is glazed with a dark, sparkly aventurine glaze that I developed in 2019.

$Several porcelain clay pots sculpted to look rocky, with cacti or moss wedged into fractures in the clay surface. In the front is a ceramic basket form with a handle shaped like a hoodoo arch bridge. The interior is glazed deep turquoise.$

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Thank you so much for both of your responses! I've been working on a single image for the past three hours trying to understand these tools and I think I have made more progress today than I have in the past couple weeks. Would you mind if I DM'd you the workflow and image for a quick critique?

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

I tried processing an image for #EastCoastKin theme day yesterday but it was not working out to my liking. I'm very out of my element using Darktable but I'm determined to understand how to use it. Anyone else can comment if they have any tips. Feel free to DM me, too, if needed. 2/2

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

@ericg.photography Do you happen to have any pointers on a logical workflow for converting to black and white using #Darktable? I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out which modules to use as well as how to properly prepare a parametric masks for various adjustments. 1/2

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Reposted by Drew Stanton

Christoph Fischer Photography @beautysurroundsyou.com · 13/07/2025

The ever changing light is what makes Patagonia so very special. In Torres del Paine, a spot lit iceberg is dwarfed by mountains in the shade, except the jagged summit, bathed in the warm afternoon sun. #bluesky #photography #landscapephotography #nature #naturephotography #landscape #travel

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

I'm noticing that and I added it to my regular feed rotation. I found some really nice work in this feed earlier today. One guy was doing an 8x10 wet-plate collodion process on glass. I haven't seen that on Bluesky until today. I love to see it.

Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Excellent suggestion that I didn't think of. I found and followed this. bsky.app/profile/did:...

Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

I'm calling upon the #EastCoastKin collective to share your favorite art feeds in the comments. Here are just a few of the feeds I follow. There are some really fantastic artists hiding in these feeds and I am constantly looking for more. Happy Friday and go make some great art this weekend!

A screenshot of a list of art related Bluesky feeds. The feeds listed are:

East Coast Kin (Update)
Artists: Discover
Photography
Traditional Mediums
Ceramics
Painting
Printmaking
Crafts
Photography 📷
Photography 🟡
National Parks
Landscape Photography
Film Photography 🎞️
📷 Film Photography
B&W Film Photography
Analog & film photo
Large Format Feeds
Alternative/Darkroom

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Okay, so just the basics. I do have many backlogged images that I would like to bring over here from Instagram. What I also need to do is get a calibrator to profile my monitor. I've been dragging my feet to shoot anything new because I know the colors won't be accurate when I process the images.

I will be sure to do that. Thanks again!

Any specific hashtags that seem to do best? It’s funny that you mention #EastCoastKin. I joined the collective the other day. The interactions with the other artists has been great so far!

Thank you and thank you for the follow!

Thank you so much for the shout out! You didn’t have to do that but I greatly appreciate it!

I am also loving it here on Bluesky. I was never able to gain any sort of footing on Instagram or Twitter. I’ve also been able to find other artists much easier over here. I feel like I have more control. How important are hashtags for traction?

You definitely don’t. It was also equipment I used so there was that sentimental part to it as well. I was able to get a Bessler 23CIII enlarger for $150 which is an absolute steal! I’ve got plans for all of it but some of it needs some care before it gets used.

It needs some love. I bought it and a bunch of other photography equipment from my school. I got a call from one of my instructors a couple years ago asking if I wanted to buy some gear because the school was shutting down the program. I bought a lot of stuff to get myself started.

I look forward to seeing more of your work, too! I have a backlog of things I want to post as I reestablish my photography social media presence and network with other artists. I crave knowledge and I’m just getting started. I’m also still figuring out how to gain traction on this app.

My current little project is trying to learn to recreate my faux IR and regular image processing workflow using Darktable and GIMP. There’s a bit of a learning curve but I think I’m almost there. More tutorials and practice is still needed though.

Mine is repairing the bellows on my 4x5, a colorimeter, and a pop-up darkroom. I’m just getting started with my equipment journey after leaving school. Not having access to a darkroom is the biggest ache for me.

It’s like a photographer’s curse or something. 😂

I recall not using Photoshop as much after switching to Lightroom for school. I only really went back to Photoshop after I started fiddling with a faux IR channel mixer technique occasionally.

I'll add it to the long list of "needed" equipment.

It's been about eight years since I have used it so I imagine it's changed a lot in that time.

I used Lightroom in the past to merge some of my largest images and it has always done a great job. I have recently moved over from Adobe to Darktable. I'm still figuring out the software but I'm sure it has the ability to stitch panos somewhere.

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I was actually just looking at Kolari a moment ago. I will definitely keep this in mind for the future. I'm not sure if I still have my old Nikon DX body anymore but I would gladly sacrifice it just to experiment with IR. I would prefer full frame but I only have one and it's my primary camera.

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Drew Stanton @drewstanton.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

I am so ready for this sort of addiction! I have dabbled a bit with the Brenizer method of stitching photos into colossal images. Some of them I would use the channel mixer to mimic a pseudo-infrared style. However, I have never been able to shoot in infrared and that’s something I would love to do!

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Why is this important? The Camera Obscura is how French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce was able to capture "View from the Window at Le Gras", the oldest surviving photograph on a light-sensitive pewter plate, dated c. 1826-1827. After eight hours, this marks the birth of photography! 🧵 5/5

"View from the Window at Le Gras" by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Heliograph on pewter.
c. 1826-1827

Source: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/niepce-heliograph/

Helmut Gernsheim's 1952 retouched "View from the Window at Le Gras" by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Heliograph on pewter.
c. 1826-1827

Source: By Joseph Nicéphore Niépce - Rebecca A. Moss, Coordinator of Visual Resources and Digital Content Library, via email. College of Liberal Arts Office of Information Technology, University of Minnesota. http://www.dcl.umn.edu, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107219