In The Lime-Light (2) Crackle Overlay
© Susan M. Reynolds
PRO Website: simplydivinephotography.com
Uploaded: July 21, 2010
Exif: F Number: 3.2, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/80 seconds, Flash: did not fire., ISO: 100, White balance: Manual white balance, FocalLength: 60.00 mm, Model: NIKON D200
Susan M. Reynolds July 21, 2010
I've gone from Blue Hydrangeas to Fuchsias...Couldn't resist trying the crackle overlay to see if I remembered how to do it and I did, so my insomnia paid off for a change!Dale Hardin July 22, 2010
Have a great time Susan. You're going to one of our favorite places, the Pacific central coast, though we rarely get that far North. #8780377Michael Kelly July 22, 2010
Some of my favorite places for photography, sounds like a wonderful trip. Hope you manage OK with no one with you an part of the trip, or are you off the crutches now? Have a great time and looking forward to your photos. #8780563Rita K. Connell July 22, 2010
have a great time can't wait to see your pictures #8780970Aimee C. Eisaman July 22, 2010
I really hope the trip goes well. Also hope the areas you were talking about are open for you now. :~) I love the colors in the photos you posted. I don't care for the first version much...makes me feel like it was either a fogged up lens that only got wiped off in one spot or the middle of an edit in (incert photo editing software). The second version though is very artful and I like that about it. I do wish the stamen on the left flower was in focus. #8781088Stephen Shoff July 22, 2010
This image struck me as being very thoughtful. I liked the fogged appearance along the top. I would have liked the DOF to include the entire leaf at the top of the primary blossom. #8781344Jeff E Jensen July 23, 2010
Have fun on your trip Susan!I'm not sure how I feel about these, They are beautiful flowers, but the soft focus across the blossoms is not working for me, especially with the detail in the leaves/water drops. #8782346
Teresa H. Hunt July 23, 2010
Have a great trip Susan! I hope your time alone suprises you. :)I'm not crazy about your first post. I had the same reaction to it that Aimee did. I like the one with the crackle overlay. Though like Aimee I wish the focus was a bit sharper.
Congrats on your EP for the textured one! :) #8782720
Debbie E. Payne July 23, 2010
Susan, I, too, prefer the crackle one. Aren't textures fun? The original has a beautiful vivid quality to it but I believe that its vividness brings our attention even more to soft focus on the right fuschia. The crackle effect takes the focus back more on the overall photo. Good call on adding it. #8783010Ellen H. Robertson July 25, 2010
Congrats on both of them. I do like the textured one best. #8785775Kathleen Nealon July 26, 2010
Very nicely done. I too like the crackel treatment. For me it counteracts the very bright white glow of the softened fuschia on the (looking at) right. #8786831Susan M. Reynolds July 31, 2010
Thank you for all the helpful feedback...the fogging on the original was intentional to match the title "In The Lime-Light" meaning to keep the focus on the one Fuchsia. I will try to replace the stamen on that one so that it's not fuzzy per the suggestions from a several. I'll remove this set and post another photo right after I get my new photos loaded.Peter W. Marks July 31, 2010
OK Susan, I'm late with this but have only came back from Cornwall this week and there's a bunch of catching-up to do.Susan M. Reynolds August 01, 2010
(Hi Peter, Welcoming you home! I'm glad you had a good vacation & a safe trip as well...I am so sorry for the loss of your brother, Chris, I still keep you & your family in my thoughts and prayers daily & will continue to do so.)Thank you for commenting on my photos, I appreciate all the comments/in-put by everyone.
The reason that the flower on the right is not in focus is because on the plant's vine, the right flower & the blossoms were farther back by at least 1.5" or more, and since I was using a macro lens very close up. Only the main body of the flower on the left & surrounding leaves were at the same distance from the lens & were in focus.
I took quite a few shots from different POV's trying to get both in focus, but without success as I wanted to name one shot Twin Fuchsia's...but as you can see by this shot it was a 'no-work' situation for this plant unless I clipped one of the blossoms and attached it artificially somehow. I do have some other shots to work with so I'll work on a few of those & see what happens. I can also decrease the opacity of the crackle on the second version as well as trying to see if the other photos are any better than the one I posted...was pretty much in a hurry to post something before my trip.
Eventually I'd like to use this type of layering process over floral, landscapes, old-time architecture & such to replace the framed prints that are in my home...I love the old Victorian floral & roses prints that I have now, but desire to someday replace them with my own work after I learn more about the basics & more advanced techniques with layers.
I am enrolled in a 4 week class in September with Doug Steakly (I was able to see some of his work at the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History when I went to try for photos at the Great Tide Pools in Pacific Grove.) The class is called - Basic Masks In Photoshop, also, another 8 week class in November by Richard Lynch - Leveraging Layers: Photoshop's Most Powerful Tool.
I had two 50% off MVBP rewards that I had to use before they expired, so I figured taking the ones on layers/ masks would help me learn & understand what can be one of the greatest tools while using Photoshop.
#8798377
Susan M. Reynolds August 01, 2010
My trip...the place I wanted most to photograph, the McWay Falls on the over look Trail at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park beach...the trails were closed due to mudslides and fires...Had rented a car, but my daughter suggested I save my money on the rental & use the money instead to get my own car tuned up & road ready for the trip...wound up paying a little over $1100.00 the shop found other stuff wrong (of course)...then on the day before I was to go to the Tide Pools, my car wouldn't start in the parking lot of a grocery store where I stopped to get a few items instead of going out to eat (to save money) got back out and the car wouldn't start. Called AAA they came out and jumpstarted my car, telling me to drive it for at least 30 minutes before I shut it off, then left. My car died immediately again when I was only 1/2 way backed out of the parking stall. I called them again and they jumped it again but it was only enough to pull back forward into the parking stall to get it out of the way of traffic. By this time it was almost midnight - I'd been in the lot for 2.5 hours...they called a cab to take me to a hotel, since we have the AAA that offers trip interruption insurance, battery replacement etc. The tow truck from AAA called a cab, when I asked for the # to the cab company, the AAA guy said they'd give me the info when they arrived and left...well I went ahead and took my pain meds, since I knew I wouldn't be driving because a cab was coming. I saw several pass on the main street in front of the store in the 45 minutes or so before I dozed off from the medication. Well, I didn't wake up until the a.m. freezing cold, with a bad crook in my neck. Called AAA again, they came back tested the battery & said it was the alternator instead. #8798387Susan M. Reynolds August 01, 2010
So after spending about 12 hours in that parking lot, I finally got a cab to the garage & thankfully there was a hotel right next to the garage. We only have 200 miles on our towing allowance for the year and it would have cost me an additional $180 for a tow back to Sacramento Infiniti who serviced it for over $1100 to get it ready for the trip plus $125 for a one-way rental back to Sacramento.Peter W. Marks August 01, 2010
OK Susan; I know a guy who sailed single-handedly across the 3000 miles of the Atlantic who had less adventures than your trip down the coast! Unbelievable! I am so sorry that the trip was not what you had hoped for, I really am. If I were the cop I couldn't have given you a ticket either after hearing your story. I think I would have given you a credit note for another speeding offence. :o)Aimee C. Eisaman August 01, 2010
Wow...I'm so sorry Susan that is horrible! #8798519Michael Kelly August 01, 2010
OMG Susan that sounds horrible. #8798745Rita K. Connell August 01, 2010
I am so glad that is behind you, aren't we glad that tomorrow is always a new day..... #8798875Teresa H. Hunt August 01, 2010
Susan, I'm so sorry your trip was so bad. :( #8799094Susan M. Reynolds August 01, 2010
The trip surely wasn't what I expected, even the photo-walk was pretty much a let down, The leader of the group in Santa Cruz, didn't even wait 5 minutes for people to get to the meeting point through the hecka bad traffic and parkking nightmare there! So we just went on our own. The two people that were with me didn't want to wait until sunset to get better photos of the Boardwalk all lighted up or even the light house there at sunset...they wanted to leave before dark & go to dinner first as they were heading home and I was going on down to Pacific Grove/Monterey/Big Sur. I went with them instead of staying alone because one of the group was my daughter.Kathleen Nealon August 02, 2010
Yikes, what a nightmare. Seems like everything you encountered would be on a 'bucket list' of 'not-to-do's'. I'm glad you are safe and home. #8800995Sign up for an interactive online photography course to get critiques on your photos.
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