Thursday, October 13, 2011

Week 40 good to WOW Edit Leaves

I'll start with my most complicated edit...the one where I did a bit more than just change a few sliders in LR and crop.  Mouseover to see the original.
1/250    f/5.6     102mm   ISO 200
I did my usual boosts--My combined Flat Tone and General Punch preset, plus a little to blacks.  I also adjusted white balance a tiny bit and boosted +10 brightness and +18 saturation.  Then I used the clone brush in LR to remove the extra bits of glass that cropping still left.  Then I used an adjustment brush to desaturate and brighten the background until I was satisfied with it.  The automask feature for the brush kept it off the leaf quite satisfactory.  None of the automasking in PSE6 is as good as the new technology.  One reason alone to upgrade to PSE10 in the distant future (when 11 comes out.)

For the rest of my edits I basically used my preset, boosted the blacks, brightness, and saturation, and for some cropped.  Again the original is under the edit on mouseover.
1/640    f/4.2   80mm    ISO 100 
I did play with white balance a little on the one above a bit cooler and +9 in tint. 

1/60   f/5.6   135mm  ISO 800
Because of the high ISO I did move the luminance noise reduction slider a tiny bit.  I didn't want to take away the details, but I wanted the background to not be as grainy.

1/500    f/1.8   50mm  ISO 100
So there are the four photos I shared on Monday.  You would THINK that meant I was done.  However, I have some more leaves to share with this or that Thursday.  One Monday comment suggested that the last picture could be improved by taking it from a different angle.  Since I totally agreed, on Wednesday I went back.  The original was taken on Saturday so first there was just a lot more leaves, so it couldn't quite be duplicated.  Also, I tried to take pictures before Bible study (this puddle is at my church) and couldn't quite get myself to get on the ground...so I shot blind by lowering the camera to the ground.  Again you can see the original on mouseover, and on these all there is just my basic preset, plus +5 to blacks, and some cropping.
After Bible Study was over, I went back to take some more.  First I got down on my knee.  It is wet pavement after all and no one is paying me for these photos!
It was good to have more focus control, but still, this wasn't the original shot just from a lower perspective, so one more.  I actually laid down on the pavement.  Luckily pretty much everyone had left the church by then so I didn't get run over (Sunflower was home with her dad which is what allowed me the opportunity.)
I also straightened this one a little bit.  So now I have another 100 leaf pictures and none are exactly what I envisioned (that does not mean I don't like them).  I could personally now go back and take the same pictures with a slightly narrower aperture (larger dof).  With the extra leaves having fallen, I don't have the original puddle reflection as much.  I do have some from above as was also suggested, but I'm saving those for another prompt.   This post has enough for today.  After all, almost everyone has their own leaves to look at and if you don't check out the linky party over at Ashley's for other edits!




Photobucket

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the perspective and dof in the last one!

Unknown said...

I think your edits look wonderful!

Ashley Sisk said...

You really did a nice job - love your edits.

Jaymi said...

I love the colors in these, I especially love that last shot!

Seraphinas Phantasie said...

Wonderful photos from autumn. I like your leaves in all the colors. They are gorgeous !

Unknown said...

Gorgeous leaves, beautiful colors and softness (love the third last).

Betty Manousos said...

amazing shots and a magnificent result!

very nicely done, i'm really impressed!

Becky said...

Wow, these are all amazing. You have such creative perspective!! Thank you for coming by my blog and commenting on my photos!

Seeing Each Day said...

this was me looking through all your leaves shots...'ooh, i love that one', scroll down , 'ooh, i love that one too', scroll down, 'ooh, no actually i love that one', scroll down, 'hang on, nope, this is the one...'

deb duty said...

Lots of beautiful photos! My favorite is the leaves on the pavement.

4 Lettre Words said...

These are stunning...and that 3rd shot must be framed! Wow. Such a lovely post.

Kmcblackburn said...

Absolutely adore the editing you did on that third leaf photo with the black background. So vibrant...perfect!

Kathy

Gina Kleinworth said...

I was really looking forward to seeing these today- they came out FABULOUS!!!

Melissa said...

All these are very pretty to look at. I really like the edit on the last one. Pretty lighting and lovely colors.

shirley said...

I love the last photo you shared - sometimes you just have to lie down to get the shot!
I like the glass leaves, too - they are very pretty.

Michelle R said...

CEDAR!!! Awesome!!! love the simple clean edits on your first set -- but LOVE that you went back and tried again! I personally love how the 2nd set came out! Beautiful colors, reflections, dof, perspective... GREAT JOB!!! You've inspired me to *try to* find some colorful leaves and be looking down, instead of up... but our leaves here seemed to have skipped a lot of the color once on the ground...

Bek said...

Wow! I love that third one!! So very nice with the contrast.

Courtney said...

Well done! Loved them before but they are truly great now!

Unknown said...

Beautiful shots, thank you for sharing!

Leovi said...

I love these autumn colors, delicious photos, especially the last one with this beautiful blanket of leaves.

Mira Crisp said...

These are all beautiful photos. I like your edits very much and thank you so much for your lovely comment. I appreciate it!

A Creative Grace said...

thanks so much for visiting me, I love the last set especially, so much better, the colours, composition and the dof, soo good :)

Jennifer said...

It is so amazing to see your growth each week!! Super lovely work!

Anonymous said...

All the leaf bokeh is so pretty, especially with all the vibrant colours! Good job! :)

Scott said...

Love the shots of the leaves. These are great!