January

Green Field with Tree

How I did it - This image was taken very early in the morning during a recent trip to Tuscany, Italy. This scene was a short walk away from the farmhouse where I was staying, some fields had been recently ploughed and some showed the first signs of winter crops. I started with a fairly heavy dose of 'Blacks' in the Raw Converter as the image was very flat and lifeless. I then cloned out the green field in the top right hand corner as this was drawing my eye. Levels then brought out more of the contract as well as some colour. I then copied the whole lot and used a really heavy dose of Gaussian Blur (30%) which I then reduced to 50% opacity so that it gave a glow but you could still see the detail. I masked the tree so that it stood out and appeared to be sharp. I finished with a heavy crop, a bit more levels and some Saturation. It would be great to know what you think.

Here is the original.   

COMMENTS:
 

Marie Altenburg	You have a great eye, Linda!  The lines, composition, and lighting are wonderful.  But I wish the tree were just a bit larger – just enough to make it more identifiable.
Brad Ashbrook	Well done on your technique because it paid off, the image looks great. I think the colors and the pattern really make this image. Well done !
Louis Duncan	Linda, the textures, light and shadows, and diagonal lines all seem to point to the diminutive subject. I would send it to competition.
Vicki DeVico	You did a great job in your post processing, Linda. I do like the original, and would probably have kept it as it was shot...but the work you did made it a much more interesting and vibrant image.  Great work !
Jan van Leijenhorst
Carol McCreary	Overall interesting photo. I really like the green arrow lead-in. I would like a little larger tree even if you have to take out of another photo. This definitely shows a 1/3 placement.

Member Bio

- Biography       I am married to John and live around 30 miles north of London in the UK. Prior to around 2005 my work life pretty much dominated but the gift of a camera triggered a desire to redress the work/life balance. Prior to this I will admit shamefully to not having taken many pictures at all, even on holiday! After a couple of years I took the decision to resign from full time employment and have since been working as a part time consultant. The primary reason for this change was to focus more on Photography, now a bit of an obsession.        In terms of what interests me mostly, I love being out in the landscape, preferably in cold, wet, miserable weather. I also enjoy details and abstract design, subjects to be found anywhere. My pictures are rarely sharp or clear as I think we all know what things really look like so I don't strive to reflect reality too much, this is a very personal perspective and I know many people disagree with this approach which is fine. I use Nikon equipment mainly but I always make sure I have a Compact camera with me at all times just incase.      I use Photoshop CS4 but I am very aware that I know how to use the things I need but I have not approached the learning process with any structure so I know that I have only just scratched the surface and that there is vast array of tools and skills of which I have no knowledge. I enjoy experimenting and look forward to learning from this group.