Georgianne Giese  


Rainy Day Pollution by Georgianne Giese

June 2018 - Rainy Day Pollution

June 2018 - Georgianne Giese

Original 1

June 2018 - Georgianne Giese

Original 2

About the Image(s)

Cut out the Flamingo and pasted on the Georgetown pollution image, and then used a mask with black at low and changing opacity to hide the feet and let the water show through. I increased brightness on the Flamingo with an Adjustment Layer, took the bird into NIK Viveza to brighten the eye more. After merging up, I applied a Topaz Impressions 2 Liquid Lines preset. Back in PS cc, I applied a mask to the Topaz layer and painted black at 30% opacity to bring back the eye and some of the neck feathers along the edge.
I considered taking the wild flowers out of the image, as I know the first critique would be that it is "too cluttered". But I decided to leave them in because they are part of the story of wildlife and pollution. The image has one subject, but three focal points - all necessary to tell the story, in my opinion.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted




Jan Handman   Jan Handman
I love it when a photo makes an important social statement and this one is a biggie; thanks for highlighting it Georgianne. You did a great job of fixing the lighting and details on the flamingo. Your treatment of keeping his feet visible in the water is cool. The water murkiness in the original looks more "polluted" than the rain drop water, but the trash and random sticks add important elements to your story. Your thought process of leaving the wildflowers seems totally valid to me. I like it!   Posted: 06/08/2018 14:19:32



Candy Childrey   Candy Childrey
You have conveyed your idea well, Georgianne. The flamingo was placed in the polluted water and looks as if it was always there. Flipping the bird helped to correct the lighting.The Topaz filter helps to blend the image together.   Posted: 06/10/2018 21:36:28



Steve Estill   Steve Estill
A good composite with a strong message. I think maybe you've got the saturation and brightness a little strong - bringing them back a bit could make the message have more impact.
Well put together and well edited.   Posted: 06/11/2018 03:56:05



 
Well done on getting the message across. I agree with Steve about the saturation and brightness as maybe if it was raining the sky/water would not have been so blue. Beautiful image.   Posted: 06/16/2018 23:09:38



 
Your message is an important one but having (to me) just the one obvious but confused piece of debris is too subtle. The water is too blue and the flower too "sunny" to convey the problem and conflict with your title.   Posted: 06/17/2018 16:38:02
Georgianne Giese   Georgianne Giese
(Group 77)
I will try desaturating the water a bit. That deep blue was added by the Topaz Impressions preset. However, as you can see in the original, the water was light blue, as it was reflecting the atmosphere above, even though the rain was lightly falling. The water itself is part of the Intercoastal, and it is quite clean, though it is a harbor area. Physical pieces of discarded debris, however, are a serious pollution problem all over!   Posted: 06/18/2018 09:30:10



Helen Sweet   Helen Sweet
Your flamingo is beautiful with all the detail in his feathers. His contrasting color stands out and the little pink flowers echo it. I, too, would desaturate the rest of the image a bit. You would still have your three focal points. Or even eliminate the yellow flower. I think you important message and story would still be conveyed, especially with the help of your title.   Posted: 06/25/2018 01:32:27