Connie Reinhart
About the Image(s)
The Pocono Photo Club has been having virtual ‘shoot outs’. The subject is assigned, the date set. The photographers choose where to take the photos “ slogging around in a bog or the comfort of the kitchen table. October 17 was “Fall Colors”. This was one from our back yard. The back lighting made the leaves glow with a golden light; the dark bark made a good background. Not knowing how to meter this, I just shot on auto to get a starting point. But that looked good, so I stopped there. F/7.1, 1/160 sec. at ISO 10,000. Hmmm. That’s pretty high, but the results are OK. The original was flat, not at all what it looked like in real life. Processed through PS; all adjustments on a separate layer. Topaz AI Clear, Topaz Precision Contrast, Topaz HSL Color Tuning, NIK Color Effects contrast color range.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
7 comments posted
to me, the image lacked a story, a punch. I decided to play with it, to bring out the story it tells, more clearly. What was needed, in my opinion, was to bring out the bark in the background. Though it is just the background, without accentuating it clearly, there is just too much dark space, in my opinion.
I selected the subject (Select > Subject), tweeked the selection to include all of the golden branch leaves; duplicated the layer of the selection (Ctrl J); applied an Exposure adjustment layer on a layer beneath the leaf (subject) layer and moved the sliders of the Exposure complex up a little, on all three sliders. That brought out the detail of the bark while muting it a bit.
here is the result. I don't know if you'll care for it, but to me, it told a better "woodsy" story of fall.   Posted: 11/02/2020 11:46:44
Very nice, simple fall image in my opinion.   Posted: 11/02/2020 15:15:28
My color preference is for reds and oranges, so I shifted your photo in that direction. I started with your original and in PS added 3 adjustment layers: Levels, H&S (masked onto the leaves), and Brightness and Contrast (lowering both values). I also cloned away some of the distractions in the left hand corner. Not the reality, but…
?   Posted: 11/05/2020 20:50:51