Autumn - Real vs. Abstract

lifeinfocus

Fall is gorgeous this year in Michigan. I captured this scene on the side of our home - sometimes we don't have to travel far to find a good subject.

I framed this shot to show some depth - at an angle -, to highlight the curved lines of the trees and some negative space on the left.

Then I processed to show as it was when I took the shot - Real.

And because I sometimes get a bored with the as is look, I did a fair amount of post processing to get a more abstract/artistic result. Eliminated blue saturation and modified other colors to contrast the naturally lit trees with a dark sky. Cropped a wee bit.

I prefer the latter, but my wife prefers the realistic look.

Comments and criticism most appreciated

1


vs. 2.

AlexShark

Very interesting. I'd try going all the way and converting the entire shot into IR B&W. The black sky is perfect -- what would the rest look like, with bright, off-white greens and mid tone reds?

lifeinfocus

AlexShark wrote: »

Very interesting. I'd try going all the way and converting the entire shot into IR B&W. The black sky is perfect -- what would the rest look like, with bright, off-white greens and mid tone reds?

Thanks for your comments. Here it is in black/white - scenic landscape.

Stumblebum

IR doesn't do it, but #2 is fantastic! The leaves on the left edge are cloning candidate! Cheers Phil!

AlexShark

lifeinfocus wrote: »

Thanks for your comments. Here it is in black/white - scenic landscape.

Interesting.I'd keep playing with it by increasing the luminosity of he greens and decreasing that of red/yellow. What would this achieve? Taken to the extreme it would make the bottom edge of the photo as bright as the clouds while the mid-section would be a stripe of decent midtones. Right now, there's little color separation between red and orange, and the center -- one third to the left, they all blend together. This can be made to shine! It does require a bit of more work, if you are willing to invest some time in it.

You can do this straight in either PS or Lightroom, but I recommend Alien Skin Exposure 5 -- it's about the only plug-in I use, but I use it a lot! There's Exposure 6 out: http://www.alienskin.com/exposure/ , I haven't tried it yet, but I used the thing since version 2 and I swear by it. Almost all my B&W is done there.

lifeinfocus

AlexShark wrote: »

Interesting.I'd keep playing with it by increasing the luminosity of he greens and decreasing that of red/yellow. What would this achieve? Taken to the extreme it would make the bottom edge of the photo as bright as the clouds while the mid-section would be a stripe of decent midtones. Right now, there's little color separation between red and orange, and the center -- one third to the left, they all blend together. This can be made to shine! It does require a bit of more work, if you are willing to invest some time in it.

You can do this straight in either PS or Lightroom, but I recommend Alien Skin Exposure 5 -- it's about the only plug-in I use, but I use it a lot! There's Exposure 6 out: http://www.alienskin.com/exposure/ , I haven't tried it yet, but I used the thing since version 2 and I swear by it. Almost all my B&W is done there.

Thanks much for the details. I will try that later this evening.

Phil

lifeinfocus

Stumblebum wrote: »

IR doesn't do it, but #2 is fantastic! The leaves on the left edge are cloning candidate! Cheers Phil!

That cross my mind also and I had done that already. Still trying to decide if I like the leaves invading the negative space or not.

Here it is cloned:

Stumblebum

Fabulous Phil! I really like it!
Also, I don't know how wise it is to capture fall-COLORS in IR.
Just sayin....
cheers!

lifeinfocus

AlexShark wrote: »

Interesting.I'd keep playing with it by increasing the luminosity of he greens and decreasing that of red/yellow. What would this achieve? Taken to the extreme it would make the bottom edge of the photo as bright as the clouds while the mid-section would be a stripe of decent midtones. Right now, there's little color separation between red and orange, and the center -- one third to the left, they all blend together. This can be made to shine! It does require a bit of more work, if you are willing to invest some time in it.

You can do this straight in either PS or Lightroom, but I recommend Alien Skin Exposure 5 -- it's about the only plug-in I use, but I use it a lot! There's Exposure 6 out: http://www.alienskin.com/exposure/ , I haven't tried it yet, but I used the thing since version 2 and I swear by it. Almost all my B&W is done there.

I had a few minutes so I went back and made few color luminance changes. I can see the difference. I did clone out the leaves to the right. I am still considering whether I prefer them in the negative space or not.

kdog

Yeah, honestly I'm with your wife. I like the au natural look. Great shot!