I am a lone tree.....

[Katy Noelle]

I think I caught it from you, Steve...

(um,....hi, Wendy!)

P.S. i don't want it to be B&W (edit: although, now, I have another whole idea about that...)

C&C extremely welcome. Thanks!

I'll start off....is there anything that I can do about the little bit of shadowy trees that you can see to the left in the background?

[jiro]

I don't think there's much that can be done about it without making it look fake or ugly. I would just keep it as it is, Katy. I was thinking of extracting the tree and the ground then change the background but I could lose the softness of the image as a whole. If you can post the RAW file we could try it out. When I saw this, I immediately saw a vision in my mind of a vast area of land in fog and there's this lonely tree right on one side of the frame commanding attention. I like the mood that you captured here. It's nice.

[Katy Noelle]

Thanks, Jiro! I have such a feeling like something is going to come out of the mist - something good, of course!

I would be happy to share the RAW but do you have the link to the place to post it up? I can't even remember what it's called. I'd be interested to see what you come up with. Nope! let me change that...my old version of iphoto doesn't spit out my RAW files to me. I can share a jpeg copy, though. (The countdown to my birthday is on. I asked for Lightroom - can you type and cross your fingers for me at the same time?)

[ktuli]

Couldn't you use a blur tool to just blend that whole area? If you added some light color to it while blurring, I think it would probably look a lot like the right side of the frame.

- Bill

[jiro]

Here's a very crude attempt to ameliorate the background issue:



I think this is the one Rob uses: http://www.mediafire.com/

Fingers crossed, good luck on your LR purchase. Woohoo!

[Katy Noelle]

Here's a very crude attempt to ameliorate the background issue:



I think this is the one Rob uses: http://www.mediafire.com/

Fingers crossed, good luck on your LR purchase. Woohoo!

Yup! That's it! I hate to say it but our threads are starting to get predictable - kind of like a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys or Scooby Doo, for that matter. Now, is the moment that I say...."How'd you do it?"

[Katy Noelle]

HERE's the link to the original. I only had the 60mm and was blocked by rusty barbed wire to get closer. I've had my eye on this tree for a long time, now. Point is, I took this with the thought to crop it. Knock yourselves out!

[jiro]

Yup! That's it! I hate to say it but our threads are starting to get predictable - kind of like a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys or Scooby Doo, for that matter. Now, is the moment that I say...."How'd you do it?"

5 layers:

1. The background layer.
2. A copy of the background layer (in case I make a mistake I still have the original image intact).
3. A new blank layer where the gradient sky would be superimposed using the gradient layer tool. Color of the background was taken from the spot near the ground (darker shade of purple). Color of the sky was taken from the top most part of the frame.
4. A new layer where the ground and the tree was extracted. I used Topaz Labs Remask plugin on this one (for faster extraction process).
5. A new layer where a false fog was introduced. Opacity was reduced until the fog mimics the density of the original image.

All done in photoshop.

[wilgk]

It is terrific that you have had a plan of capturing this and then achieved it great work . Thatbis much more satisfying I think than the spur of the moment numbers.
I just dont get off to try it like I should.
The mood and feeling is present in the original, it just comes out more with Jiros's pp - a vert nice team effort

[jiro]

Katy, here's your original unedited file:


here's the edit:


and here's the link to the edited image file for you: http://www.mediafire.com/i/?4l5en0vio6kx455

You can still further refine the edited image file according to your liking. Hope this helps.

[rob marshall]

I'm suddenly taken back 48 years to my primary school... Miss Henblest the school dragon - all bunned up hair, fierce looks, living alone in a small apartment on a meager wage, fish-fingers for supper, dreaming of respectable men (you get the picture).

Drama class... a dozen downtrodden proles from the ranks of the great unwashed of society waiting expectantly... "Now children, when the music starts (it must have been Stavinsky's, Rite of Spring) I want you to pretend you are ... a lone tree!"

[Katy Noelle]

I'm suddenly taken back 48 years to my primary school... Miss Henblest the school dragon - all bunned up hair, fierce looks, living alone in a small apartment on a meager wage, fish-fingers for supper, dreaming of respectable men (you get the picture).

Drama class... a dozen downtrodden proles from the ranks of the great unwashed of society waiting expectantly... "Now children, when the music starts (it must have been Stavinsky's, Rite of Spring) I want you to pretend you are ... a lone tree!"

Eesh, man, Eesh! (crinkled eyebrow smiley)

[Katy Noelle]

Yes, this is team post processing - thank goodness! Confession time...I'm still not exactly sure about how layers work in PS. It's slowing me down! I keep meaning to look it up....

Anyway, in the one directly above, I love how you've seen and kept the beautiful wash of light color in the grass from the seed heads. It's really a lovely edit, here - full of possibilities. Then, when I was looking at the first edit, I was mainly looking at the space to the left of the trees where the messy part was gone. Knowing that you replaced the fog (and so well that I didn't realize it) made me go and look. What's missing in the "replaced fog" is the brooding darkness that is really there because of the edge of the forest. That's where the "something" is supposed to be coming from, though. Well,....

middle son needs the computer NOW - he's earned his time. Later...

[jiro]

I can still re-process it (or you) since I saved all the layers as a .psd file. The file is about 123 MB and I can send it to you if you like.

[ScoutR]

Ummm, Hi Katy my kind of image and I just could not resist tweaking a bit, I probably made it worse, I usually do, but I was trying to work on the dark shadowy bushes for you. Let me know what you think, It you like I will post what I did. Right now I have a meal to prepare



Wendy

[jiro]

Katy, here the .psd file with layers so you can still further play with it. Enjoy.

http://www.mediafire.com/?m5gkancdpi44ep5

[Katy Noelle]

Thanks, you guys! It's fun because.... I can't believe that's my image - as in, I can't believe that I got to take it. I don't know if that makes sense but I'm really pleased with it and a lot of that is because of what you all have done with it. I'll get around to editing it some more. We've had 24 hours of the most beautiful and weird weather and I have a fair slew of photos to go through!

What's really pleasant is that they really, really feel like mine (to me, anyway) but feel different - not the same ol' thing - quite. Even if they don't pan out, I feel that I've grown a bit, this time. Can't explain it but I'll bet you know what I'm talking about. Maybe, it has something to do with being shots (puzzles) that I've been working on for a while.

Wendy, I'm very glad that you came to this "party"! As I was editing it, I suddenly thought of.....you! Oh, and, yes, I would like to know what you did!

[Katy Noelle]

I'm suddenly taken back 48 years to my primary school... Miss Henblest the school dragon - all bunned up hair, fierce looks, living alone in a small apartment on a meager wage, fish-fingers for supper, dreaming of respectable men (you get the picture).

Drama class... a dozen downtrodden proles from the ranks of the great unwashed of society waiting expectantly... "Now children, when the music starts (it must have been Stavinsky's, Rite of Spring) I want you to pretend you are ... a lone tree!"

Now that I don't have one of those very same downtrodden, unwashed proles breathing down my neck - this is so wonderfully written. Oh, I laughed! That very same child and I were just, moments before, having a conversation about how elementary school feels like a fire and no one will have mercy and pour a bucket of water on it.

[ScoutR]

Thanks, you guys! It's fun because.... I can't believe that's my image - as in, I can't believe that I got to take it. I don't know if that makes sense but I'm really pleased with it and a lot of that is because of what you all have done with it. I'll get around to editing it some more. We've had 24 hours of the most beautiful and weird weather and I have a fair slew of photos to go through!

What's really pleasant is that they really, really feel like mine (to me, anyway) but feel different - not the same ol' thing - quite. Even if they don't pan out, I feel that I've grown a bit, this time. Can't explain it but I'll bet you know what I'm talking about. Maybe, it has something to do with being shots (puzzles) that I've been working on for a while.

Wendy, I'm very glad that you came to this "party"! As I was editing it, I suddenly thought of.....you! Oh, and, yes, I would like to know what you did!

Katy, I don't work in layers either, still have not figured it out so I find work arounds. For this one I used the graduated filter in Lightroom and put it on a diagonal across the left side adjusted the brightness so the colour blended more with what was on the right. Of course this lightened the tree a bit much too so I took it into Elements and did some burning of the dark tones on the tree. Seriously though this is the type of image I could play around with for days and come up with so many different versions I would not know which one I liked best. It's a great shot, don't you just love the mist. I hope to see more shots from this outing soon.

Wendy

[jeeperman]

Katy, little late to the party I am. I really have nothing to add but my approval of the mood which you caught and the edit Jiro has made. Nice work there to you both.