Chincoteague -- More Than Misty

This is the second image I've posted from the same shot taken at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge off the coast of Virginia. (The first was http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...-Good-and-Evil) It started out just to become a backdrop for my previous post but finally turned into this. Most of what's there is from a shot taken in October of 2008. After saving the image for what I thought was the last time, I decided to put a bird in the tree. I really like mourning doves and had a photo of one I'd taken out the window on a snowy February day in 2012, so I added it. As that version of the file was being saved, I recalled that one of the reasons I like mourning doves is that they're often seen as pairs, so I composited a different shot of the same one and flipped it horizontally.


Attachment 159721


Nikon D2x, ISO 100, f/3.2, 1/20 sec, zoom lens at 17mm (DX format)

processing highlights

• original shot bracketed +/- 2 EV in Adobe Camera Raw for tone-mapping in Nik HDR Efex
• flipped horizontally and corrected in Warp mode for distortion
• Topaz Simplify -- saved watercolor preset
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- saved watercolor wash preset, Hard Light blend mode
• Nik Silver Efex
• Fractalius -- three saved B&W presets; Multiply, Divide, and Multiply blend modes
• Simplify and Snap Art -- saved B&W presets, Multiply
• Field Blur applied to background
• Belle Fleur rain texture (On several previous occasions, I'd gone through all the steps of making snow in Photoshop, but Belle Fleur's collection of snow, rain, and star textures is my new go-to.)
• Alien Skin Exposure -- white vignette, partially masked from foreground

Dennis, this is wonderful! Beginning with the title, it is perfect - the tones, the composition, the rain, the doves. Ethereal, calming and lovely. The only thing that caught my eye after looking at it several times is the darker horizontal branch about half way up on the left side. I know everything you do in your images is very intentional so you may disregard this thought if so, but I think you could lighten the middle of that branch just a shade. I like the darker vertical branch on that side that keeps your eye in the frame and you may have wanted that horizontal branch pointing into the frame for the same reason. Definitely not a deal breaker - I love the image:S3:

Thanks for your comments, Cheryl, and good catch. I'm going to fix that horizontal branch. And probably tone down the vertical one a little but not make it disappear.

Wow! Dennis you are a master of subtle combinations of techniques to produce outstanding creative images! The addition of the doves is perfect. Totally love the mood you created with the black & white treatment & the falling rain/sleet. The abstract lichen on the main trees and the detailed abstract foreground work very well together. If you care going to tone down some branches, maybe consider the 2 dark trunks in the lower center, just behind & to the left of the main trees. They catch my eye and make me think 2 little trolls are sneaking through the woods :S3:.

Thanks, Nancy. The trolls are now better hidden.

A bit of a different look for you, but with your excellent artistic eye. I really like the B&W, the misty feel, the texture of moss and other growth on the trees typical of humid environments sharp against the softer background. The addition of the birds is just the right touch. Your execution of the birds is outstanding--they look like they were actually there.
I think the suggestions by Nancy and Cheryl are good, making an excellent image even better.

Cheryl and Nancy's eagle eyes have made a wonderful image better.

I absolutely LOVE this!! What a perfect treatment for a lovely composition!

Thanks for your comments, everybody. Diane, I'm glad you like it because if it weren't for your saying you'd like to see an image of the background in my previous post, I'd not have gone back and extensively reworked this and posted it. Here's how it looks after the changes suggested by Cheryl and Nancy were incorporated.


Attachment 159881

Perfect, Dennis :)

I love the effects and the image design but find that the image is tight on the bottom... My eyes are crying out for a bit more of a base. a

Went from a 10 to an 11. Agree on a bit more on the bottom -- an easy fox for an artistic image.

Maybe a graduated filter for a bit of lightening of the darkest tones on the top...? This is a wall-hanger!