Alan Kaplan  


Levitation # 1 by Alan Kaplan

September 2021 - Levitation # 1

September 2021 - Alan Kaplan

Original

September 2021 - Alan Kaplan

Original 2

About the Image(s)

A little whimsy this month. The yogi, as you can see from Original 1, is sitting firmly on the ground. I was in Ljubljana, Slovenia when I took this picture and hurried a little so that I missed a corner of the yogi's carpet. The Clone Tool and Layer Mask saved me. I forget which composite it was and when it was, but someone in one of the Digital Dialogue groups I'm in suggested that I thinly outline an object to give it body. I applied that advice here with the carpet and used the Brush Tool to draw a thin black border around the front and side of the carpet.
The eastern yogi photographed in Slovenia is seen floating in Chan Chan, an Inca ruin 300 miles north of Lima, Peru. That's the magic of digital photography and Photoshop. Original 2 is one of 3 handheld rapid-fire, bracketed shots I took of this area of the ruins. The final photo of the ruin is an HDR image that was processed in Photomatix. The original sky was cloudy, as it is much of the year in and around Lima, so I used a Linear Gradient to create a sky on a separate layer. I placed the sky underneath the Chan Chan layer and used a Layer Mask on the ruin's layer to reveal the sky.
If you have a moment, I invite you visit Group 54 this month to see Levitation #2, my second floating person.


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




Brian Menzies   Brian Menzies
(Group 88)
An enjoyable whimsical image. Thanks for sharing the tip on the "thin outline" addition it works well. Perhaps you could look at shifting the yogi towards the left of the shadow and yogi shadow more to the right so the combination of yogi and shadow still maintain a central feel. The light direction would then be in sync with the shadow that is on the bottom left-hand step   Posted: 09/04/2021 23:16:57



Brian Menzies   Brian Menzies
(Group 88)
The roughened treatment on the Inca ruin is excellent   Posted: 09/04/2021 23:18:32
Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
Please see my comments & revision in my reply to Jan.   Posted: 09/12/2021 16:46:00



 
Certainly raised a smile from me. "Whimsy" really captures the atmosphere and effect. Well done.   Posted: 09/05/2021 23:49:56
Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
I appreciate the pun.   Posted: 09/07/2021 07:28:01



Jan Handman   Jan Handman
I like the simplicity in this image Alan. The red carpet is such a nice pop compared to all the other neutrals. The ruins and yogi totally look like they belong together, even though they're from different places. Your created shadow gives nice space below the carpet for a nice levitation feeling. If I was going to nitpick, I'd suggest that the carpet shadow be wider since the sun is pretty much directly overhead and the carpet is quite large. The shadow of the yogi would then be maybe just his shoulders and head since he's sitting on top of the carpet and smaller than the carpet in the vertical space. A quick edit here just to illustrate what I mean. Looks like Brian is a "shadow" person too, so you got a double dose! :-) I did check out your Levitation #2 image -- also pleasantly simple and very well done!   Posted: 09/10/2021 14:03:45
Comment Image
Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
Thank you all for your help with the shadow. I changed the shadow as if it were more overhead as dictated by the shadow on the wall on the left. I think it looks better. I'm happy to have your shadow help as I seem to be inconsistent with my shadow perception.   Posted: 09/12/2021 16:45:21
Comment Image



Steve Estill   Steve Estill
A simple and effective image. I mst admit that I thought the shadows could be better, but that's already been said. The Yogi could also benefit from some shadow to align with the background, but that's just another nitpick.
It's still a well created image and the simpicity works well - as does the image on Group 54. WEll done.   Posted: 09/10/2021 17:05:29
Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
Please see my comments and revision in my reply to Jan.   Posted: 09/12/2021 16:46:26



Candy Childrey   Candy Childrey
Good job, Alan. I love the texture that you added to the background ruins. You did a beautiful job with the sky so much better than the original. Increasing the grey in the yogi's beard was a good idea too. Good job in Group # 54 too.   Posted: 09/12/2021 12:56:51



Brad Becker   Brad Becker
(Groups 41 & 54)
Alan, I didn't realize you had a second group, thanks for mentioning it. This is another enjoyable image nicely handled.   Posted: 09/13/2021 16:02:39
Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
Thank you.   Posted: 09/13/2021 18:55:20



Georgianne Giese   Georgianne Giese
(Group 77)
As usual, your images really appeal to me. The lines and story here are very nice, in my opinion. One thing that "annoyed" me was the color of the rug. It just seemed inconsistent with the rest of the image. However, I realize that you like to emphasize separate objects in your images. This one blends objects a little more than I have come to expect from you. But perhaps the red carpet is more of a delimiter of that object in the image, in line with your preferences.
At any rate, I decided to play with the image, and I used a solid color adjustment layer to change the color of the rug to a vivid blue, to both pick up the sky color and to emphasize the object.   Posted: 09/24/2021 09:44:26
Comment Image
Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
(Group 54)
I'm happy you like the image. I didn't think to change the color because red is a color of good luck in many countries in Asia. Thank you for taking the time to show me the difference.   Posted: 09/24/2021 15:43:26