Shot in Nashville Zoo on Feb. 27, 2012 on a Nikon CoolPix AW100 camera at these settings: ISO800, 140mm, -0.7ev, f/4.8, 1/640sec. Info said "1:22AM" – but I doubt that!
As you see in the original, despite harsh highlights, it was hard to even see the lowest alligator (far left) in the stack. In Photoshop, after initial cropping, layers and masks and blend modes were used to brighten the 3 & 1/2 alligators and darken their surroundings after painting-in a more colorful burning-in of all the elements. Two new layers were created for use in Topaz Simplify as follows: the background was darkened and became black and white by using the "Wood Carving B&W Dark" filter and the gators (who looked blueish by now) were done with "Color Sketch III" Simplify filter. I combined the layers in Photoshop, gave them a Linear Burn on the black and white background, then blend mode "Exclusion" for the greyish effect I wanted all along.
4 comments posted
Cindy Gosselin
Wow, the drama of the colors and texture created in the altered version is excellent. The three alligators are so intertwined that I found it hard to identify which tails go to which gators; I found that amazing. I especially like that your choices have reduced the clutter of the animal's enclosure as you now barely notice the log or the rock wall. My personal preference would have been to clone out the 1/2 alligator, as it tends to take my eyes out of the frame and away from the other three subjects.
Other than that, excellent result. Posted: 05/15/2023 09:01:46
Nancy Speaker
Pat, the techniques you used really opened up the shadows and gave us a clearer image of the Alligators. In terms of composition, I too suggest you may want to remove the tail in the upper right. I like the way your techniques separated the alligators from the background using tone and color. Congratulations on your creative adventures in the art world. Posted: 05/15/2023 11:28:31
Martha Aguero
Pat, very interesting effect you have obtained here. The alligators are glowing in the dark, as coming from a cave for invasion or attacking, very creative. Posted: 05/16/2023 02:04:54
Trey Foerster
Very interesting exploration of creativity - I like how you merged the treatments to get the final result. Thank you for outlining that. Ditto on the tail at top right but also that color strip at bottom edge below the gators. I'd also give more "breathing room" on the left edge as the gator's head is too close. Posted: 05/27/2023 10:53:03
