Contentment - January 2012

How I Did It     

This is one of my favorite photos from the Gagapagos -- a lovely seal, enjoying the afternoon light, and so comfortably curly up, smiling and napping!   Cropped, adjusted levels, added a a bit of saturation, cloned a sand blob off the nose, darkened the edges, selectively sharpened the entire seal only, then selectively sharpened the face only a bit more.  

Original Image:

COMMENTS:

Marti Buckely	Cute picture.  It almost seems as though there is more detail in the face in the original.  Might have been a good spot for a layer mask and painting in the original face.   I tried a little dodging here:
Dianne Glick	I love this seal!  Reminds me of me as I get some really good zzzzz's inHawaii!  The ocean really does it to me.  The light in this image is particularly lovely.  Certainly lends to the "basking" in the sun effect.  The signs here say, "Hawaiian turtles are protected - do not disturb them as they "bask" in the sun on the beach."  I got some shots of turtles yesterday - I hope they turn out well.  As usual, you do a superb job with editing.  You seem to do just the right thing.  Where are you touring this time??
Jo-Ann Devine	What a perfect model.  The lighting is excellent. Very sharp and good color.
Joe Zaia	Good title and nice picture of the seal Nancy. However, to me the seal looks kind of boxed in and the composition kind of static. Since you do have a little room around the seal, I think the composition would be stronger if you were to turn the seal counterclockwise with the Free Transform tool and present it diagonally. After cropping, it may be necessary to clone in a bit of sand. It will also help to brighten his head a bit.
Bob Yelle	This is a nice picture of the seal.  Who could not love the subject?  You've applied the proper post-processing techniques and made the seal better than the original.  I'm being really picky, but I would like to see a little more detail around the eyes.  Good shot with a lot of memories.
Larry Hegstad	Beautiful light quality!  i like the way the direction of the light enhances the texture in the sand and the seal.  To my eye, the image would be stronger if there was a bit more detail in the seal's face.  If this is a RAW capture, a simple adjustment in ACR may suffice.
Nancy's Reply:

Member Bio - Nancy Brown

Photography has been a highlight since I was a kid, but I only shot on special occasions, holidays and vacations until my first trip to Africa in 1996.  Then I started  taking it seriously.  I especially love nature and travel and use a Nikon D70.     I'm President of Nature Camera Club of Chicago, and board member of Ft. Dearborn Camera Club.  I joined PSA three years ago and enjoy it very much. -- especially the Conventions.  My primary vocation was in advertising, then got burned out, and went into the retail pet industry,  Three years later, I started my own Manufacturer's Rep business in specialty dog and cat products.  Am currently selling my business to my partner and look forward to being completely retired in 3 years and being able to focus much more on photography.