Aavo Koort  


Long Time Ago by Aavo Koort

October 2021 - Long Time Ago

October 2021 - Aavo Koort

Original

October 2021 - Aavo Koort

Original 2

October 2021 - Aavo Koort

Original 3

About the Image(s)

All the Originals are from my files. To show the young woman inside the storm clouds I used layer masking. Also used blur filter to reduce her sharpness. It took quite a few tries to get the final result. Darkened the edges of the storm background. The edge of the man’s jacket was too sharp creating a pasted on look. I tried feathering but it did not seem to work So instead I selected a thin area around the jacket edge and used Blur filter. I think it worked. Also removed the sky color to create storm clouds. All Originals needed level and color adjustments.


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




Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
This really shows a man reminiscing about a past love. The waves suggest "time and tide wait for no man," and the woman blends into the sky/his memory quite well. However, the man needs a bit of work. The background in the original photo of the man appears in the composite and can be carefully removed with a layer mask. The hair on the top of his head is a little too cut-and-pasted. I read about a solution to this problem that we all come across. Use the Eyedropper tool to sample the color of the man's hair in the original photo, create a new layer above the man in the composite, and use the thinnest brush possible to paint strands of "hair" on the new layer. In this way you can adjust the color of the "hair" without effecting the composite itself. It's certainly worth a try for such a nice composite.   Posted: 10/07/2021 09:56:10
Peggy Nugent   Peggy Nugent
That sounds like a great technique, Alan! Thanks for sharing.   Posted: 10/15/2021 15:49:38



Brad Becker   Brad Becker
Aavo, I like what you've done here. I see some significant improvement in your layering and handling of the edges. The man and the background feel balanced your handling of tone, contrast and hue. I agree with Alan you could tune up the edges more. The left jacket could easily be erased away with a layer mask or leave more of the jacket all the way to the edge. As it is now, it looks odd having a partial rhombic shape of shoulder free floating. I find the pink hues of the women's face a bit distracting and wonder if you desaturated or reduced vibrance it may better fit with the nostalgic theme.   Posted: 10/07/2021 22:27:32



Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Nice composition that you have created Aavo, it transmits the feeling of melancholy and memories from the stormy days. I'm totally agree with the other members about the improvements that you could apply to the image, to move from a great idea to a gorgeous image. If I were you maybe I will have chosen a different stormy sky, I find it a bit dark compared to the luminosity of the1 sea and I will worked a little more blending the elements in the scene. Overall a great image and idea, well done.   Posted: 10/09/2021 23:51:21



Peggy Nugent   Peggy Nugent
Great concept and great composition, Aavo! I think it's really effective to have the subjects in opposite corners, with the storm clouds and crashing wave in all that space between them. The expressions on their faces really work.

I don't have any suggestions to add to the ones already made.   Posted: 10/15/2021 15:55:28



 
Aavo, Good on you for taking on quite a challenge.
I agree with all the above suggestions.   Posted: 10/16/2021 13:15:54