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Study Group 22
Dianne Glick











 
Marti Buckely
Dianne Glick
Jo-Ann Devine
Nancy Brown
Joe Zaia
Bob Yelle
Larry Hegstad
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 Snowghost - January 2012

 

How I Did It:

We visited Yellowstone on Dec 27 with my family.  We toured all day and walked three or four times in the COLD!!  I loved it, but I didn't get too many pictures.  The animals seemed to be in hiding.  I was struck by the stark beauty of this tree, which was next to an active geyser.  The steam and mist caused the snow to be only on part of the tree.  I cropped a bit, used levels and a bit of saturation.  Then I used the clone stamp tool to give color to more of the berries.  I did a little dodge and burn, sharpened a bit and this is the result.  What a cold day, but what a wonderful day.  I used my Canon 5D Mark II, with the 70-200 lens.

Original:

 


 

COMMENTS:

Marti Buckely


The placement of the tree is good.  I feel there is too much white in the upper right corner.  It takes up about 1/4 of the image. 

I tried bringing into Camera RAW and sliding the Recovery slider all the way right, saved it, closed it and then opened it in Camera RAW again.  Giving it a little more Recovery helped bring in some details to the sky. 

Keep at it.  You are getting better and better at your composition.

 

Jo-Ann Devine

 

Tree and branches are sharp. The little red leaves or berries add to the photo with the white snow in the background.  I think the right side of the photo could be cropped a bit.

 

Nancy Brown
 
Nicely done.  A most interesting tree with the geyser "blast", and excellent detail of the little branches with frost.  Good idea with the berries, but you might try a slightly brighter red to make them more visible.
 
Joe Zaia

 

Yes, even in Florida I can feel the chill of your “Snowghost” tree. Excellent idea to give the berries more color, or else it would look like a monochrome picture. You did well, but perhaps you could give it more life with a Curves treatment and darkening the black tones.  

 

Bob Yelle

 

Conceptually, I like what you tried to do to capture this scene.  In my opinion, you came very close.  I like the small tree and the geyser on the right side.  It emphasizes the foggy affect of the image.  I like how you used the clone tool to add color to the berries.  I think you may have an image that you could use for a Christmas card next year.  I'd like to mention a couple of things.  In my opinion, there is too much white space in the upper right corner of the pic.  I'm thinking that a little crop (not enough to take out the geyser and tree entirely) ould help downplay the white space.  Also, it appears to me that the foreground tree trunk is a little underexposed.  Good effort. 

 

Larry Hegstad

 

The adjustments applied to the original image are well done and add more "punch" to the image.  In my opinion, the image would be stronger if it isolated a single berry and/or branch.  A 70 - 200 mm lens would be ideal for the effect.

 
Dianne's Reply:


Member Bio – Dianne Glick

 

St. Louis, MO  (winters in Phoenix, AZ)

(dianneg@me.com )

  I am a retired real estate salesperson (35 Years in the business!), who loves to travel and take photographs.  I have taken photos for years, but just in the past 4 years have I been able to concentrate on detail and to learn a minute part of Photoshop.  I use a Canon 5D, which is usually around my neck at all times during a trip.  I have been blessed with a wonderful, supportive husband who indulges my hobby.  I have three grown children and four grandchildren (more subject matter for photos!).  I grew up in the mountains of Idaho, went to college in Denver and have traveled extensively throughout my adult life. I am so looking forward to the interaction between fellow "addicts".   


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