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Thread: The Serenity of Dawn

  1. #1
    Brownbear's Avatar
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    The Serenity of Dawn

    I returned to give this scene another shot to include more sky.

    I bracketed my exposures but I couldn't manage to combine them with any finesse. So instead I took the image with the underexposed trees and lightened them as well as the lake waters in the foreground using a gradient filter for shadows in LR. I darkened the sky using a highlight filter for the sky.

    Note: It is mighty interesting how much one can lighten trees and rocks without introducing any noise, but not so with birds!

    In Photoshop CC I painted the lines (lightened) of the trees with a to the point, and I also lightened the prettier trees and their reflections. I couldn't darken the sky anymore, or do anything to it without introducing banding in the sky.

    This image represents an exploration of my artistic side. I was thinking pretty and played up the blues of the early morning hours.


    Aperture priority f/9 SS 1/30 ISO 100 Focal length 11 mm

    (Hand held because I rode my bike there and my tripod is heavier than my bike.)

    Rice Lake, Mountain Seymour Park

    The Serenity of Dawn

    I would appreciate hearing if folks find this image pretty, or if I have gone too far with the blues.

    Thank you.

    Note: Frank Miller -If you are still here there were no fishermen in sight so I couldn't borrow a fishing rod to try your idea. Just me and a chipmunk, two chickadees, and possibly a black bear that peaked its head out of some trees and then disappeared.

  2. #2
    Digital's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    I think you did well compositionally; however I think you went to far with the blue tint.



    Bruce

  3. #3
    FrankMi's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Quote Originally Posted by Christina S View Post
    Note: Frank Miller -If you are still here there were no fishermen in sight so I couldn't borrow a fishing rod to try your idea. Just me and a chipmunk, two chickadees, and possibly a black bear that peaked its head out of some trees and then disappeared.
    LOL! Likely my last post before I head out but I really enjoyed reading this!

    We gotta get you to the point where you can combine images with ease Christina! There was a post earlier at CiC where Topaz Labs was offering ReMask V4 at a discount. You might want to check their website and see the videos on how ReMask can make merging images easier, much easier in some cases. Merging the trees from one image with the sky from another may not be impossible, but really tricky without something like ReMask. I have the entire older Topaz Bundle and have found about half the add-ins to be very effective on a regular basis and ReMask is one I use very frequently.

    And yes, I do like what you are doing with this image. Perhaps you could get the black bear to swim across the lake?

  4. #4

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Though I don't specialize in landscape photos, everything looks natural to me.

    I envy such still water. I would probably encounter it more often if I got up early enough, but don't count on that ever happening.

  5. #5

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Christina, I quit like the image. Looks like such a peaceful spot and you had good company

  6. #6
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Nicely done, why not flip horizontally and see how it looks?

  7. #7

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Christina, I do think that you went a tad far with the blue color but it is a very serene scene that you captured well. I appreciate your insight into the lightening of the trees and that is good information to have in the PP toolkit.

    Lastly, you have a pesky sun spot that you might want to take care of around the center point of the stand of trees on the right. I can relate as I had difficulty dealing with some from my images captured last weekend.

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Great capture of a beautiful scene. I do find the trees a hint too blue- most noticeable in the very centre.

    Irene

  9. #9

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    That really is a serene scene, Christina, well done for capturing it. It's a good composition and the reflections are beautiful but there is something that just doesn't seem quite right about it for me. Maybe it is just the particular shades of blue and green ... . Would you consider a monochrome version -- with a subtle yellow filter overlay?

  10. #10
    Kaye Leggett's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    I like it and think you should let your artistic side out more often T The blues work for me and if you like it, then that's all that really matters.

  11. #11

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    I like this too. It is pretty but more than that. The depth of blue, especially in the bottom part, is good. The whole thing reminds me of a sound wave graph.

  12. #12

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Hi Christina, I like the image and colors in the image work for me

  13. #13
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Christina...Tony beat me to what I wanted to say... but I agree with him completely.No nits, no bear either.

  14. #14
    Brownbear's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Thank you to everyone for your replies, and to those folks who shared their thoughts on the image being overly blue. This is very different from my usual PP approach which is to try to match the scene as best to reality as can be. At this time I'm still not sure if I like the colouring, or not. I had high hopes that I could create a high-key version of this scene but it doesn't work. This weekend I will try another artistic version and post it in this thread.

    Frank...

    I will check out Topaz remask. Yes, it is the tops of the fir trees that are out of alignment. However, I intend to buy some graduated filters, hopefully soon, and filters sound a lot easier and less time consuming then post processing. I will fulfil your wish for a swimming bear this weekend.

    Mike...

    Yes, the lake waters are blissfully calm. Even the ocean waters are calm at this time of day (5:15am). I was on my bicycle (just purchased as public transit doesn't run this early) at 4:30am, uphill all the way but thankfully not too far away. Too, early even for me. And I'm very much looking forward to later sunrises.

    Thank you for letting me know the scene still looks real to you.

    John...

    It's supposed to be artistic so I will try flipping it and see what it looks like.

    Shane & Irene

    Thank you for letting me know about the blues and the bright spot. This image was the darkest of the bracketed shots (-2 EV) and I simply can't fix it. I tried a curves layer and an exposure layer, banding in the sky with the teeniest adjustment. That said I will be visiting this place again, and hopefully I will figure out how to lessen that bright spot.

    Greg...

    It could be because the fir trees are not as light and bright a green at this time of the morning (unreal). The sky is really blue. This weekend I will try another version in colour, and I will also give a monochrome a try. Thank you for the tip to use yellow filter. Yellow to tone down the blue?

    Thank you Tom, Binnur, Irene, Kaye, Bruce and Izzie!

    PS Izzie I hope to be able to photograph a black bear here, one day, at a safe distance. I live close to the mountains and there are a lot of bears around.
    Last edited by Brownbear; 1st August 2014 at 01:09 PM. Reason: Add name to the thank you

  15. #15
    Kaye Leggett's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Quote Originally Posted by Christina S View Post
    I was on my bicycle (just purchased as public transit doesn't run this early) at 4:30am, uphill all the way but thankfully not too far away. Too, early even for me. And I'm very much looking forward to later sunrises.
    Wow I'm seriously impressed that you managed to capture such a great image as well. My brain and eyes just refuse to function together properly at that time in the morning let alone my legs uphill.

  16. #16
    truonda's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Nice shot! You have very steady hands!

  17. #17

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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Hi Christina,
    I love the photo. Nice composition and color. You could use less blue, but I like it the way it is.

    Photomatix Pro is another program that can merge images and the $$$ is reasonable. Very easy to learn and does a good job.

  18. #18
    Wavelength's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Very lovely and peaceful..... Loved it

  19. #19
    Mark von Kanel's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Christina, if you need the discount code for topaz let me know, and ill see if its still valid. everybody has said everything that needs saying about your pic, well done.

  20. #20
    terrib's Avatar
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    Re: The Serenity of Dawn

    Christina, I think it is very pretty and gives the serene feel of the early morning before the sun warms things up.

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