Maria Mazo, QPSA  


The Lighthouse by Maria Mazo, QPSA

December 2021 - The Lighthouse

December 2021 - Maria Mazo, QPSA

Original

December 2021 - Maria Mazo, QPSA

Original 2

About the Image(s)

This month’s image should be related to Christmas time, but it is difficult to me to think about snow, cold and Christmas decoration when just entered the southern summer so I decided on an image related to the sea and tried to stay simple using few elements in its composition.
To create the background, I have used two photos that I shot recently of stormy clouds unusual in the blue skies of Sydney.
The Hornsby lighthouse is in Sydney Bay and the sailboat recently captured on one of my walks on the beach.
I created the background with the clouds and then I have placed de lighthouse and the boat for it I have used simple selection blending the elements with the brush and with the free transform tool.
Whit the brush I added some rays of light to the lighthouse and them applied two different textures to give pink tones to the sky and a little deeper in the colours.
After that I opened it in topaz studio and applied the city flare filter.
Finally, I placed the birds in the sky with another brush.


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




Alan Kaplan   Alan Kaplan
This composite has a lighthouse, a boat, powerful clouds, a rough sea, and birds all blended together to create a captivating final image. Quite a success! Nice work.   Posted: 12/03/2021 18:57:05
Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Many thanks Alan, I am glad that you like it
  Posted: 12/18/2021 19:24:36



Aavo Koort   Aavo Koort
Perfect placement of birds to fill the middle space. Since it shows a picture in day time I wonder if you can really see the light beams from the lighthouse. Perhaps if you made this an evening image they would be more appropriate. Overall great compositions and colors.   Posted: 12/11/2021 18:28:32
Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Many thanks Aavo for your comment, I was debating between putting the light beams on or not and in the end I decided that since the image was not real I didn't have to stick to reality either.   Posted: 12/18/2021 19:29:28



 
Love this composition! The birds are a great touch and fill in the empty space well. Have you thought about re-coloring so that the lighthouse is blue and changing the tint of the upper sky to blue also? Might work better as just a "shades of blue" picture. The rough sea around the lighthouse is very well done!   Posted: 12/12/2021 11:08:42
Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Many thanks Peter for your suggestion and for your comment. I will try and see what happens.   Posted: 12/18/2021 19:31:12



Brad Becker   Brad Becker
Maria, This is a very compelling and beautiful image. The colors and lighting are stunning. I find the water below the boat a little distracting and wonder if you were to have more fog and less ocean visible if it might create more mystery and sell the virtues of the lighthouse.   Posted: 12/14/2021 21:16:58



Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Many thanks Brad for your comment, I am glad you like the image and I will try to blend more the sea under the boat to create more mystery.   Posted: 12/18/2021 19:32:39



Peggy Nugent   Peggy Nugent
This is such a glorious image, Maria! I love the colors and those wonderful clouds. The blending is seamless. Both the lighthouse and the sailboat are beautiful.
For me, the light beams add a welcome touch; this image feels very light and dreamlike to me.

I originally thought that the lighthouse was too small compared to the sailboat, but having recently seen a number of lighthouses now I realize that they come in all sizes. I tried out a larger lighthouse anyway just to see how it looked. I like your version better.   Posted: 12/21/2021 09:42:14
Comment Image



Peggy Nugent   Peggy Nugent
And Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family!   Posted: 12/21/2021 09:53:29



 
Merry Christmas Maria!
I love the color palette you created in this image.
Thinking that this is fantasy and that you can do any old thing you'd like to it, I still would like the lighthouse anchored to some type of rock in the bottom left.
But other than that, very creative and lovely!   Posted: 12/25/2021 17:55:24