GO WITH THE FLOW

[gary ellwein]

I tried to combine two images obtained on a recent outing. The bg is a 1 second exposure of a rapid on the South Fork of the Snake River. The trumpeter swan was feeding in a plowed grain field. I selected the swan and combined it with the river. I would like to add a shadow, but don't have a clue. Suggestions and help appreciated.

[Dennis Bishop]

I like what you've done. The backlighting on the swan is very appealing, and the long exposure of the water gives a nice effect. There's also a good warm/cool contrast with the sun on the swan and the bluish cast of the water.

Here's a way to do the shadow if you're using Photoshop. First, select the swan. The Quick Selection tool is good enough because a shadow cast on the water will be blurry, which means much of the detail will be lost, anyway. Next, add a new transparent layer and follow that step with Edit>Fill>Black at 100% to get a black swan. At that point, you need to figure out where the shadow should be. I really wanted it to go upward and slightly to the left, but the backlighting of the swan would mean it should go toward the bottom. The first step in doing that is to flip it vertically and move as necessary to have the shadow start in the right place. (I ended up masking it a bit, too.) After that, do a free transform, if you want to rotate and elongate it. If you do a rotation, remember to choose the top center point in the Reference Point Location icon in the Options Bar for the center of rotation. Then, reduce the opacity and blur as much as you think is appropriate.

Here's a quick and dirty result using that process.

147418

To do a shadow that's partly hidden by the object that's casting it, do a Selection>Save while the marching ants are still on the screen. Name the channel, so that you'll be able to load it, later. Place the shadow where you want it. Then -- while on the layer with the shadow -- apply a mask, load the selection (with the mask highlighted as active) and fill it with black. If any of this isn't clear, let me know.

[gary ellwein]

Dennis, thank you for the tutorial.

[Mitch Carucci]

Dennis,

I have also been trying to create shadows. Thanks for the quick tutorial!

[Nancy Bell]

Gary, I love the effect of the water with the smooth flowing lines and the alternating shades of dark and light. Adding the swan is a great idea to give a focus to the image. And Dennis, thanks for the great tutorial! This looks good with the added shadow.

[gary ellwein]

The redo incorporates a shadow thanks to Dennis. The original was presented as a whimsical unrealistic image. I wanted to do something with water blur, which I rather liked. The shadow adds an element of realism. I'm not certain I want to go there.

[Dennis Bishop]

Very nicely done, Gary.

[Diane Miller]

But the shadow would be much more blurred, even without the water movement. Easy to blur it -- but blur it more the farther away from the bird it is.

[Anita Bower]

This is an image that has impact. One knows the OP is probably unrealistic, but it doesn't matter. The contrast of the gorgeous white bird against the flowing dark water is stunning. (It does look like the bird is walking on water.)

[gary ellwein]

The redo incorporates blurring of the shadow. Diane, thanks for the reminder.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Gary, I'm really late to the show but the original concept is wonderful, Dennis' tutorial was very interesting, and your final results (with a little help from Diane) is perfect:S3:

[Nancy Bell]

Great! We all appreciate a little help from our friends!

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Love the water, and the walking on water effect. I think I might pull the shadow back a bit (and towards us). Great image for OOTB!