Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

May 2023 - Starlight

Original

Original 2

Original 3

About the Image(s)

Here is ”Starlight”. I was working on the remake of last moth’s image but got distracted with this idea. I think that the girl is dreaming of this scene where she witnesses the dance of the fairies in starlight. The background (orig.1) and the girl peeking from behind the tree (orig. 2) are from the previous image. The spirits are long-exposure shots of the same subject in her princess outfit playing with a chiffon scarf (orig. 3 and 4), and as the face of orig. 4 was badly blurred, I replaced it with the face in orig.5. I turned everything into BW and added the blue tone. The background has a touch of one of the Topaz BuzSim filters. There are several layers upon each other with varying opacity, a spot lighting layer effect on the star, and a lot of diffuse glow.
I tried to make the spirits luminous and transparent, and the girl more real-looking - is she too sharp and contrasty compared with the rest of the image? She is necessarily rather dark as her face is in the shadow, and I tried to show her backlit against the light. The crop should probably be tighter so that the subjects would be better visible, but I like the treetops and branches against the sky so much. What do you think?

11 comments posted

Alan Kaplan

You certainly have a good idea here. The girl peeking from behind the tree is precious, and the spirits dancing on the boulder captivates the girl in a believable way (for those of us who believe in spirits). The blue hue is a good choice for a nighttime walk in the forest. I've taken the liberty to crop your image so the main part of the image is front and center. Nice work. Posted: 05/05/2023 17:59:28

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Alan! You are perfectly right with the crop. - I fell so much in love with the background that I did not have the heart to cut anything off, but the image is so much more intense now! Posted: 05/06/2023 14:33:07

Alan Kaplan

I agree with you about images that include forests. It always hurts me to crop trees. Posted: 05/08/2023 08:20:52

Maria Mazo

Hi Kirsti, what a lovely image and story that you have created! What I can say is that I love it so much. I like the tones and the way that you have created this ethereal look. The girl under the tree is the key and I agree with Alan crop it totally focus in the story. Well done! Posted: 05/12/2023 18:48:04

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Maria! I think that there was something quite special in the process with this image: it kind of started to talk back to me and tell how it wanted to be. Posted: 05/13/2023 11:18:43

Brad Becker

Kirsti, This is a beautiful and magical image. I agree with the cropping suggestions but also love your background image and can relate to not wanting to sacrifice any of the majestic tree. I do like how you've increased the darkness and contrast of the girl. I might consider increasing the contrast some for the foreground spirit. Since she should be backlit given the position of the starburst you could increase her contrast some and create a halo glow around her keeping an ethereal look. Just suggestions from a fellow fantasy creator. Posted: 05/13/2023 12:11:35

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Brad! I love your ideas about the foreground spirit - I'll work on it! - The girl behind the tree is on her own layer, so it was quite easy to do individual adjustments. Posted: 05/13/2023 13:46:29

Aavo Koort

This is a story book image looking for a fairy tale. The blue color adds to the mystery. I also agree with the cropping suggestion. Well done. Posted: 05/14/2023 13:12:00

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Aavo! This is a most lovely compliment! - The cropping was hard but I am convinced that it is the right thing to do. Posted: 05/14/2023 14:04:09

Peggy Nugent

What a magical image you have created, Kirsti! I love the blue tones and the starburst and the story you are telling. I think you have the right contrast and sharpness for the girl behind the tree - she draws my eye, and it makes me curious about what she is thinking and going to do next.
I understand why you started with the larger picture of the forest, but I agree that Alan's crop tells the story more clearly.

I might consider adding a bit of a vignette. Posted: 05/14/2023 15:11:04

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Peggy, I think that the vignette is a perfect finishing touch: It makes the image so deep and mysterious! Posted: 05/14/2023 20:12:35

PID Digital Dialogue

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