Fading Effects on Picnik

For this post, I want to briefly revisit the topics of curves and fading effects on Picnik.  Since I discovered "Curves" on Picnik (click HERE to see how to access that section), I've been using it quite often to edit my photos.  As I have mentioned in many previous blog posts, I almost always used the fade bar to lessen the impact, except for when using dramatic sepia, daguerrotype, and the various B&W options.  Recently, I've been experimenting with fading the effects that I just mentioned.  I've found that it can yield some interesting results, and I thought I would share so others could try it and provide their input.

As an example, here's a photo of the engraving on my father's old shotgun that I took a couple weeks ago.  This is the "normal" edit, with hardly anything about the photo being tweaked.

For the final product, I applied dramatic sepia and faded it to about 50-60% strength.  I also layered on the "Gritty" effect to bring out the detail in the engraving a little more.  It faded the colors a little and made the metal look even more metallic.  Overall, I feel like it added a lot more interest to the photo.  The original was not bad, but I definitely prefer the look of the final product.

Anyway, I know this is a very short and random post, but I liked this combination of effects, so I thought I'd put it out there for others to try or provide their opinion.  Go ahead and give it a shot or let me know what you think!  Also feel free to comment on any other blog posts.  I'm always open to suggestions or opinions!