Denise McKay  


What Lies Beyond by Denise McKay

October 2024 - What Lies Beyond

October 2024 - Denise McKay

Original

About the Image(s)

This image is of a cellar door located at the Historic Daniel Boone Home site in Defiance, MO. The buildings at this site are from the 1700 - 1800's. I was drawn to the textures of the old stone, wood, and metal work with the ivy overgrowth. It gave me a feeling of a mysterious door into a different world, which I tried to bring out in my post-processing.

Camera was handheld in natural light and settings were ISO 500, f5.6, 1/200 sec.

Edits as follows:

In Lightroom - cropped and changed angle a bit. Increased texture, contrast, and black point. Decreased highlights. Masked and lightened shadows above the door. Removed the modern padlock.

In Luminar Neo - applied a "mystical" filter which I manipulated until I got the effect I liked. This filter softens luminescence, increases contrast and saturation, and adds a glow to lighter areas in the image. This was the first time I used Luminar Neo for a photo edit. I played with it after taking a class on creative editing that spoke highly of this software. I'm still learning about what it can do.


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




Jan Handman   Jan Handman
Taking photos of charming doors is one of the things I love most while traveling, and I love this door! The filter you applied gave it a lovely look. I sometimes struggle with deciding whether to fix the perspective of something straight like a door, when the camera creates skewed lines. With this particular one, since it's only slightly skewed, it seems like fixing it to have straight verticals and horizontals keeps it from feeling "off." In photos where the angles are greater, it sometimes gives the scene a nice depth to keep them. All a matter of personal preference, for sure. Just a thought. I've never heard of Luminar Neo; gotta check it out. Well processed Denise!   Posted: 10/10/2024 19:51:47
Comment Image
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
Thanks for your feedback Jan! I love a good door too, LOL.

I struggled with how to straighten the image and thought I had it more vertical than I did. Thanks for the example.   Posted: 10/13/2024 12:59:35



Connie Reinhart   Connie Reinhart
Your edits have turned a photo of an interesting door into a doorway to a fantasy world. You paid close attention to the details that made the final image so good. I must try Luminar Neo, also. I have regular Luminar, but don't use it much.   Posted: 10/17/2024 15:18:40
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
Thanks Connie!   Posted: 10/17/2024 20:24:55



Rita Johnston   Rita Johnston
Denise, you made a door become an object of interest. The detail is excellent, and I can't add anything to make it better. Very, very nice!   Posted: 10/20/2024 18:53:48
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
Thanks for the feedback Rita!   Posted: 10/21/2024 11:49:47



Mary Hinsen   Mary Hinsen
Kia ora Denise - I love this ethereal fine art door. It tells a great story, and invites me in. Well done!   Posted: 10/21/2024 03:44:55
Denise McKay   Denise McKay
Appreciate the feedback Mary!   Posted: 10/21/2024 11:50:05