NASA Plum Brook Station prairie

Early in 1941, the US government purchased thousands of acres in northern Ohio in the name of military preparedness. Much of the land was being farmed. Over the years, a large amount of military and space program work has been done there, and its Space Power Facility was one of the filming locations for the movie, The Avengers. An edict passed under President Carter mandated that -- to the extent possible -- the government must restore the lands that weren't being used to their natural condition. For Plum Brook Station, this meant oak savannas and prairies. Last August, an environmental stewardship society to which I belong toured the land with someone who has been a key person in the restoration effort. Fortunately, he considers himself a photographer and allowed me to wander nearby and take photos while he talked at the car caravan stops.

Nikon D3S; two prairie shots -- zoom lens at 140 mm, f/2.8, 1/160 and 1/800 sec, ISO 100 (He didn't talk long enough for me to use ND filters.); flower shot (different location) -- 135 mm, f/9, 1/5000, ISO 2500

processing

• two prairie shots (exposures of same spot with blowing wind) -- each on a different layer; top layer at Pin Light blend mode revealed much of both layers
• Topaz Simplify -- Watercolor II, lightly masked at bottom
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- Watercolor, Color blend mode
• base layer (stamped from the two prairie shots) applied at low opacity to bring back a small amount of definition
• four B&W layers -- two Fractalius, Alien Skin Stylize Line Art, Topaz Simplify edges, all at Multiply blend mode
• all layers stamped, canvas extended to right, stamped layer flipped horizontally, moved to right, and cropped; Content Aware Fill was used at different places on both sides of the join line to reduce symmetry.
• cropped the flower shot severely, Topaz Simplify Watercolor II, Alien Skin Snap Art Watercolor (Color blend mode), two B&W layers at Multiply blend mode, masked, dragged to prairie shot file and re-sized (expanded)
• Photo Filter adjustment layer -- Warming, gradient masked (black at top, white at bottom)
• two Flypaper Textures -- chosen to have different effects across the image, one at Pin Light blend mode, other at Difference, reduced opacities
• masked gradient vignette

Very interesting flip Dennis and subtle tonality changes on the reeds l and r. Almost surreal because I keep looking for flipped flowers too. I keep getting my eye going to the darker top. I wonder if you were able to stretch it with a lighter palette from the meadow using Content Aware or even more cropping? Very creatively processed!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jackie Schuknecht

. . . I keep getting my eye going to the darker top. I wonder if you were able to stretch it with a lighter palette from the meadow using Content Aware or even more cropping? . . .

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Thanks, Jackie, I see what you mean. I'll work on that and re-post.

(a bit later) Things in the distance tend to be less contrasty, and that worked well for lightening the darks. I used a masked Curves layer with substantially lighter darks and darker lights. I really appreciate your input.

I think it looks better Dennis!

Nice idea, and I do like the RP. Nice to see the opposite of "Where have all the flowers gone?"

Most creative Dennis. I did not immediately note the symmetry in the image. The repost is an improvement. On occasion I try to duplicate your processing. The exercise has gotten me out of my comfort zone and introduced several new PP options. Thanks.

The credit is all yours, Gary. You're the one who stretched yourself. I'm glad it worked out and that OOTB continues to be a good learning experience for all of us.

Thanks for your comments.

You created a really lovely composition with the flips, etc! Wonderful placing those 2 flowers & 3rd stalk in the gap between the arching grasses. I really like the soft mottling and the colors in the layer right behind the grasses. All the parts are perfectly melded together. I like the repost. Your combination of techniques and vision are so creative!

Dennis, I liked the OP and like the repost even better. I love the sense of depth that you've created and the serendipity of the flip. Beautiful work, as always:S3:

Love this one! It is fanciful and fun and makes me smile. I like the grasses bending in to salute the flowers. Outstanding processing. Green and yellow together are such happy colors. I would prefer that the area above the center flower were less obviously flipped. I was not bothered by the dark top of the OP. Maybe something between the OP and the repost?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anita Bower

. . . I would prefer that the area above the center flower were less obviously flipped. . . .

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Thanks, Anita. That bothered me, too, as I was finishing up the image. If I'd thought about it earlier -- before I decided to put the flowers there -- I'd likely have done something about it. I'm going to go back and take another look. If it won't take forever, I'll try fixing it.