Saturday, March 16, 2013

Editing Fun at Creative License Friday

It's that time of the week for Creative License Friday over at she who carries a camera. Last week I had the good fortune of discovering this fun edit challenge, and this week I have the honor of providing a photo for the challenge.  Thank you so much Jill for hosting this challenge, and giving me the opportunity to see what others can do with this photo!

 
I took this photo back in October at the shore of the Sutro Baths on Point Lobos Avenue in San Francisco. When I arrived, the sun was glaring overhead. I knew it wasn't the ideal condition for taking photos, but I was struck by the rock with the hollowed out heart and the view of the ocean through it. I decided I'd worry about the editing later. Well five months have passed, and until this challenge I was still without a clue how to edit the photo. Last week I discovered a new texture artist, Lenabem-Anna, from the participants in the Creative License Friday challenge. I thought her moon and sun textures were amazing, so I downloaded them. Once I submitted this photo for the challenge, I realized Anna's texture, Background-Night, would add the perfect touch.


I wanted to tone down the glaring sun, so I decided to turn it into a night scene. Here is what I did:


I first used Anne's Background Night at 81%
Then used the RHWest Levi texture at 52%
Brightened it a bit
RH West Denim texture at 74%
Pumped up the hue saturation a bit
RH West Robin texture at 8%
Defined and sharpened
Ran it through Topaz Simplify to soften and bring out the color
and that is it.

I couldn't stop at one edit, so I also ran the final edit through RadLab for a darker edit, and  Silver Efex for a black and white edit.




Now it's time to go see what amazing things have been done to my photo over at

Creative License Friday

6 comments:

  1. looks great. for some reason, I really like the black and white version, maybe because the rocks are already dark

    have a great day.

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  2. Oooh!! I've been flipping back and forth to figure out if I have a favorite. It boiled down to #2 & #3, and then I reeeally had to flip back back and forth (for some reason I felt I needed to pick a fave!) and I finally came to the conclusion it was #2. I think it boiled down to the vignette effect putting more emphasis on the center of the image, plus the colors which I am totally drawn to, and the darkened rocks giving it a greater punch. Very, very nice!! I, too, have been excited to see every new edit that has come in. So much creativity! Thanks so much for offering this awesome image to all of us!

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  3. I don't know if we are supposed to pick a fav in your group, but I do like that 2nd one turning the water into that nice silvery green. Don't ya just love Ana textures? Her moon textures are just dreamy!! Again, I used two of her textures to edit my pics. Along with lightening, darkening, clarifying etc. Thanks for the nod about my blog and also thanks for contributing that beautiful image for us to have fun with.

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  4. First things first... thank you for providing your beautiful image and your sweet comment on my blog. The Silver efex is gorgeous and last but not least the B/W.

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  5. Dear Cathy, Thank you so much for sharing your amazing photograph for others to enhance. I love, Love, LOVE what you've done!!! All three edits are magical. Ooh - I do hope I can be as good as you one day. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead. Bye for now, Kerrie

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  6. Hi Cathy, Oh I smiled when I read yor comment and saw your images - "Great minds thins alike" - that we'd picked up the same texture! I find all your edits very beautiful - the black and white gives a special athmosphere, but I think your edit nr. 2 is my favorite - the deep blue-shades come through in a lovely, subtile way! Thank you for proving your unique photo for this weeks meme!
    Nina

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