Kirsti Näntö-Salonen
February 2025 - Reception Committee
Original
Original 2
Original 3
About the Image(s)
Here is ”Reception Committee”. This one started with motion blur experiments, including an attack on a nightscape of a tiny harbor (Orig. 1). The background consists of three layers of the image: two layers with vertical motion blur upon each other in Color Dodge blend mode (that for some reason seemed to infensify the reds and yellows?) On top of them is a layer with horizontal motion blur, erased partially to reveal the vertical streaks, that forms a line for the horizon. At this point, it started to look like something extraterrestrial was trying to approach from the sea, so I added a beacon (Orig. 2) and a pair of Aliens (Orig.3) to meet them . The beacon was converted to B&W with a bluish tint. I shaped the Aliens with the Affinity Liquify tools and treated them with both Inner and Outer Glow. The rocky shore was constructed by cloning bits from the base of the antenna, and finished with a texture brush, but I think that it looks quite clumsy. - I tried to bind everything together with an Average Blur layer and by adding shadows. I tried to give the Aliens a halo, or a pool of light to stand in, but could not make that work, and I am afraid that their coloring is not quite right, either. I am again very much looking forward to all your ideas.
14 comments posted
The blur experiment you did with the harbor worked very well. The light streaks look amazing. The beacon was a great choice to give that ET feel. The rocky shore came out pretty good too. As you noted, the coloring and contrast on the aliens doesn't seem to fit. If the shading were more like the beacon, that might help. Brightening up the harbor backdrop could be an idea to try as well. Overall, I think you're on the right track with this composite. Posted: 02/08/2025 01:35:02
Thank you very much, Matt! I'll try these tips out. The shading will certainly help. - I think that the greatest problem is to fit them in without losing their otherworldly quality. Posted: 02/08/2025 08:33:43
Hi Kirsti, See my edit below. Tried a few ideas to see if I could help.
1. To connect the explosions with the aerial I have added a ray. Method - new blank layer>blend color dodge> select color of choice> set to 4% opacity with hard brush paint between the subjects in straight lines until happy. Then paint single blob at 9% opc down the line to give interuptions in the ray.
2. Using NIKS EFFECTS ADD glamour glow and selective vignette on subjects and close rest of the image into darkness. This softens and brightens and also hides some of the bits that were frustrating you.
Thats it. Please ignore if you think I have lost the plot. Me thinks this a good sfi image. Cheers Bruce Posted: 02/11/2025 14:13:53
1. To connect the explosions with the aerial I have added a ray. Method - new blank layer>blend color dodge> select color of choice> set to 4% opacity with hard brush paint between the subjects in straight lines until happy. Then paint single blob at 9% opc down the line to give interuptions in the ray.
2. Using NIKS EFFECTS ADD glamour glow and selective vignette on subjects and close rest of the image into darkness. This softens and brightens and also hides some of the bits that were frustrating you.
Thats it. Please ignore if you think I have lost the plot. Me thinks this a good sfi image. Cheers Bruce Posted: 02/11/2025 14:13:53
Hi Bruce, here is my next attempt. I am so grateful for the beam! I expanded the image to panorama-like format to give it more room - don't know if it was a good idea or not. The lovely signal interruptions seemed to make it a bit cluttered, so I left them off. I think that the Glamour Glow filter softened also the ugly shoreline a bit, and left it, and the horizon, visible for now, although the darkness looked very good, too. What do you think? Posted: 02/21/2025 17:46:32
Thank you so much again, Bruce! I knew that you would rescue the Aliens! I think that I tried every effect but the Glamour Glow, and the dark background gives everything a new power. The beam is a lovely idea, I cannot wait to see how I can recreate it myself - I can see it as a little wider and in a paler shade. Posted: 02/11/2025 15:32:15
This is a great image, Kirsti! I love the way your imagination put this all together. Your little aliens feel very endearing, perhaps because of the way the little one is leaning towards the bigger one. The colors of the vertical bands of light really work well with the purple sky.
I think Bruce's version with the beam defined more clearly really tells the story.
I don't have any useful suggestions, but I do really enjoy this image. Posted: 02/14/2025 18:00:31
I think Bruce's version with the beam defined more clearly really tells the story.
I don't have any useful suggestions, but I do really enjoy this image. Posted: 02/14/2025 18:00:31
Thank you, Peggy, I am glad! Posted: 02/14/2025 18:20:00
Kirsti, I like the colors and hues you've combined. I didn't quite get the alien theme at first. I find the image a little cluttered feeling with the beacon so close to the aliens. I wonder if an image without the beacon and the aliens being a little more alien like might be visually stronger, but I realize that would be a departure from how you developed the theme. Posted: 02/15/2025 05:14:58
Thank you, Brad, I see what you mean. I am experimenting with a little more panorama-like format now, expanding the image at the right edge, to give more room for the Bruce's lovely modulated signal effect. I think that this might help the against the crowded sense, too. Posted: 02/15/2025 05:26:08
Sorry I'm late to respond. A lot of good observations have already been written. I think the scariest aliens would be people who look like us. Then the challenge would be to make the aliens who look like us reveal in some subtle way that they are aliens. In the movie "The Arrival," the aliens arrived and assumed shapes and voices that were humanoid, but they became careless and were discovered as aliens. I'm a product of the 1950's science fiction movies that showed a variety of aliens coming to earth, but those movies were really about the Communist scare in the U.S. I just thought I'd offer a different perspective on depicting aliens. Posted: 02/17/2025 15:14:03
Thank you very much - I absolutely agree. I think it may be the shattered sense of security and the shock of betrayal to see a stranger looking out from the eyes in a familiar face that makes them the most scary. That would be a real challenge for an image! Posted: 02/18/2025 07:03:46
I look forward to your meeting that challenge. : ) Posted: 02/18/2025 13:03:02
Hi Kirsti, this image absolutely captivates me! You have created a fantastic science fiction story. I love the colours and the motion blur-the setting works beautifully, and the elements come together to create a compelling narrative.
I agree with Bruce's suggestion about the beam; it completes the story so well. I also prefer the panoramic format, as I believe it suits the scene better. Posted: 02/21/2025 18:16:04
I agree with Bruce's suggestion about the beam; it completes the story so well. I also prefer the panoramic format, as I believe it suits the scene better. Posted: 02/21/2025 18:16:04
Thank you, Maria! I am so glad that you like the story! love the way the beam ties everything together, too.
Posted: 02/21/2025 19:20:36
Posted: 02/21/2025 19:20:36