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Julie Kenward
09-20-2008, 01:46 AM
This is the entrance to a back set of trails near my home. The sun was about to set and the side lighting was really doing a number on the forest floor.

Canon 40D, EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
f7.1@ 1/40th, ISO 400
Handheld w/ fill flash
Center-weighted metering

Processed in ACR & CS3; levels and curves adjustments, toning, dodge & burn, small crop.

Ed Vatza
09-20-2008, 05:15 AM
Hey Jules,

I really, really like this image. It has a wonderful painting-like quality to it and it looks almost Thomas Kinkade-ish to me with the light and everything. Also there is a wonderful mysterious quality to the image as the viewer moves from the light at the left and down the path into a progressively darker area before the path turns. Terrific job!

Amy DeStefanis
09-20-2008, 09:05 AM
Wow - this really is incredible, Jules.

It looks like you must have really nailed the mood you were going for, because I can just imagine standing there. It really draws the viewer in.

Thanks for sharing it!

Amy D.

david cramer
09-20-2008, 11:20 AM
This has a great mood. Nicely done for handheld at 1/40.

Robert Amoruso
09-20-2008, 11:41 AM
Most excellent looking image. The look of it is quite unique.

When you say toning, what did you do? Also, how was the flash used and was it effective in this case?

Julie Kenward
09-20-2008, 12:18 PM
Robert, I'm just beginning to try my hand with fill flash so bare with me...

I set it to E-TTL II and then underexposed (in manual mode) by one stop. This brought up the front of the image nicely but still left the back part in deep shadow. I did a shadow/highlight adjustment to get the back half where I wanted it and then masked off the front of the image to even it out so both were properly exposed. Then I did a bit of dodging to the back trees to separate them from the shadows.

As for the toning, I have an action that I downloaded from the web called "Midnight" that deepens the general image and then adds either a black, sepia, or blue cast to the image. I chose the sepia version and that "deepened" the overall tone of the image to really give it that soft brown glow I was looking for. The sidelighting was really nice last night but just a tad harsh and this action helped me soften the whole image to give it exactly the feel I was looking for.

Roman Kurywczak
09-20-2008, 01:14 PM
Hey Julie,
this is really, really nice. I love the lighting and mood.........not sure the flash did much/anything........doesn't matter......with the PP...........this turned out great!

Grady Weed
09-20-2008, 02:29 PM
This image finds me looking for the boogy man or the monster lurking in the bushes. Lions, tigers and bears, o my! Most excellent feel here. Well done.

Julie Kenward
09-20-2008, 03:05 PM
Grady, if you think THIS version is scary you should see the original! Eeek!

Roman, I doubt the flash did much either but I was trying it out on everything yesterday to get a feel for how it works in different situations. This image I just happened to have it on and it went off and the histogram looked okay so I took it and ran with it. I did see a real difference in some of my macro-type images so I'll keep playing with it until I get past my "I only work in natural light" phobia. ;)

Fabs Forns
09-20-2008, 09:27 PM
Out of a fairy tale, Jules.

Kaushik Balakumar
09-21-2008, 04:58 AM
Oh beautiful light. Lovely PP - it looks like a painting. Love the feel here.

Michael Pancier
09-23-2008, 02:11 PM
the lighting is fantastic Julie. I really love this shot a lot.

John Blumenkamp
09-24-2008, 10:07 PM
Hi Julie... this is a beautiful image. Has a mystical, enchanted feeling for sure. Very nice work.