Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

September 2023 - The Portal

Original

Original 2

Original 3

About the Image(s)

I started to dream about Ã¢â‚¬The PortalÃ¢â‚¬ under the bridge (Orig. 1) with the lovely light and shadows on the pillars, and the black pool of water in the foreground. However, my narrow depth of field did not work at all, and the scene looked busy and cluttered with the partially blurred reeds and grass stalks in the background. I ended up with using only the out-of-focus part of the image, and turned it into black-and-white. The color comes from an overlay of a night sky image (Orig.2). I thought that the pinpricks of stars would make a nice addition but decided to remove them in the final version. The portal and the figure passing through (Orig. 3 and 4) are from an art exhibition. - I think that the project became more of an exercise about lighting and perspective, and look forward to your comments and advice. There is the daylight (moonlight) falling on the pillars from the sides of the bridge, and the light that radiates from the alternate universe through the portal. Should the latter have a different tint?

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

Peggy Nugent

This is very eerie, Kirsti - I can practically feel the mist on my face. It feels like a silent, strange world into which you've opened a portal.
I love how everything is moonlight purple except the person and their portal. I think the light shining through the door, highlighting the mist, works really well. Those columns lead my eye right to the bright door.
It's a little confusing to me that the person is so clearly in focus, given the softness of most of the rest of the scene.
I might try adding a little fog and a shadow in front of the person. I cropped it a bit too, because I like the strangeness of the night world being in soft focus.
What do you think? Posted: 09/11/2023 16:30:52

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you very much, Peggy, this looks great! I left the man and the portal sharp on purpose, to show the contrast between the two worlds, but this is certainly not needed at all for the effect. The fog integrates the portal in the image beautifully, and of course the man needs the shadow! The crop is an improvement, too. love the modifications! Posted: 09/11/2023 23:34:09

Brad Becker

Kirsti, I also like this image very much and feel you've told an other worldly story. I had the same reaction about the contrast too. I also agree about the shadow as I was thinking of ways to tie the lighting scheme to the two areas of the image and that is effective. Posted: 09/15/2023 17:12:26

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Brad, I am so happy with the improvements, too! Posted: 09/17/2023 01:14:08

Maria Mazo

Hi Kirsti,
You did it again, creating another wonderful story.
I really like the softness of the light and color in this scene. The composition leads the eye directly to the portal and the figure at the end. I really like Peggy's suggestions about adding shadow and a bit of fog.
the Peggy's suggestions about adding shadow and a bit of fog.

Posted: 09/15/2023 22:38:57

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Maria! I think, too, that the fog and the shadow make it all blend together in a most believable way! Posted: 09/17/2023 01:19:00

Aavo Koort

I love the bluish color. It creates an eeriness overall.
And then we are jolted back to reality by the sharp figure in the opening. Well done. Posted: 09/16/2023 16:26:15

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Aavo, this is how I feel about it, too! Posted: 09/17/2023 01:22:25

Alan Kaplan

It's hard being the last to comment. I agree with a lot of what was said above, especially the shadow. If this were my scene, in addition to some of the above suggestions, to create a foreboding mood, I would darken the part of the scene under the overpass. You want more than just a human figure backlit under a bridge. The depth of the scene under the bridge i s quite powerful. Posted: 09/18/2023 09:49:06

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Alan! I am all for the foreboding mood but just could not make it happen. I tried to darken the area with a circular or linear brightness mask, or with a brush, but only managed to kill the moonlight. How do you think I should try to tackle this? Posted: 09/18/2023 13:34:54

Alan Kaplan

I copied your image into Photoshop and used the Curves Adjustment Layer to darken it. It was a quick fix. Tell me what you think. Posted: 09/18/2023 14:24:03

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Alan, I just love your version! It is amazing how the mood changes. This is a different story now, with unknown threats lurking in the shadows; even the man in the portal seems to be more wary. The difference between cold and warm light gets also more pronounced, adding to the atmosphere. - I like the original eerie luminous moonlit world, too. I think that I will keep working on both storylines. - The Curves is of course the perfect tool for this, thank you for reminding me! Posted: 09/19/2023 00:21:39

Lisa Cuchara
(Groups 41 & 44 & 46)

visiting, this is well done and adds story (or different stories depending on the light and mood). very nice! Posted: 09/26/2023 20:39:13

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Lisa, I am so glad that you think it works! Posted: 09/26/2023 22:25:34

PID Digital Dialogue

Group 54