Return of Light

Gordon W · Jul 5, 2004

It was suggested in another forum that I submit the image below to this forum for critique. So...comments anyone?

Scott WRG Editor · Jul 5, 2004

whoa.......

rangefinder · Jul 5, 2004

Absolutely beautiful!

HogHunter · Jul 5, 2004

All I can say is "Oh My God!"

LizM · Jul 5, 2004

Wow! I love it. The light has this otherworldly quality to it.

photong · Jul 5, 2004

wow...how did you do it? the lighting it so nice. was photoshop involved in this one? either way, just...wow *envy*

danalec99 · Jul 5, 2004

apt title

Gordon W · Jul 5, 2004

Thanks everyone for your kind responses.

Yes, Photoshop was involved and heavily. The original bears only a resemblance to the edited version, although the only altering of the original where pixels were actually replaced was in the removal of a utility pole that was very conspicuous in the center of the frame and the lower half of the frame was cropped. Otherwise, everything was done globally to the image using Photoshop CS's Shadow/Highlight and Curves, Levels, Color Balance, and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers. A few broad areas were also selected using Quick Mask gradients and given similar adjustments.

For anyone interested, this is more or less how the original looks...

mrsid99 · Jul 5, 2004

The fact that the first incredible image could come from the last one is artistry in itself.

ShutterBug4_4 · Jul 5, 2004

The fact that the first incredible image could come from the last one is artistry in itself.

I agree, that's amazing! I've just started using Photoshop, and I've been progressing slowly (thank goodness for the How-To section!) I hope that someday I will be able to create something this beautiful! Great work, keep it up!

Karalee · Jul 5, 2004

Wowza, and knowing the original that it came from

:shock:

oh....my.......gawd

GerryDavid · Jul 5, 2004

Gordon, thats a very nice image. :0). Well done.

vonnagy · Jul 5, 2004

excellent work here!

while its hard to see for the casual viewer (and this is just being super nitpicky) you can see where the "burning" of the sky occurs on the left hand side of the picture (ie why is the sky beneath the tree blue and above nearly black)?

I get the same issues when I do this type manipulation. The best way to resolve this is to feather the sky layer mask slightly into the horizon. The trees will become darker, but you will get a more naturalistic effect. You can then add a dodging layer to boost the Luminosity of the trees.

lol, it all depends how anal you are. You can end up spending hours on a shot like this and get a psd file size larger than 200 megs!

But the work you've done here is top notch, the 'wow factor' is definately there and definately thanks for sharing this!

vonnagy · Jul 5, 2004

excellent work here!

while its hard to see for the casual viewer (and this is just being super nitpicky) you can see where the "burning" of the sky occurs on the left hand side of the picture (ie why is the sky beneath the tree blue and above nearly black)?

I get the same issues when I do this type manipulation. The best way to resolve this is to feather the sky layer mask slightly into the horizon. The trees will become darker, but you will get a more naturalistic effect. You can then add a dodging layer to boost the Luminosity of the trees.

lol, it all depends how anal you are. You can end up spending hours on a shot like this and get a psd file size larger than 200 megs!

But the work you've done here is top notch, the 'wow factor' is definately there and definately thanks for sharing this!

Gordon W · Jul 5, 2004

vonnagy said:
while its hard to see for the casual viewer (and this is just being super nitpicky) you can see where the "burning" of the sky occurs on the left hand side of the picture (ie why is the sky beneath the tree blue and above nearly black)?

I agree with what you say except in this case what you're describing was a direct result of the settings I used in Photoshop CS's Shadow/Highlight and there was no masking or burning as such.

Plus I rather liked the separation those foggy/misty/smoky areas gave to the objects in 'front' of them and spent a bit of time getting them balanced to look like mist or smoke, although it might not be perceived as such by anyone but me. ;-)

I can see how they might be a bit distracting to some people although only a few people have mentioned noticing them. I should at least desaturate the blue from that 'mist' and darken it a bit maybe.

Anyway, thanks very much for your comments, Mark.