Foggy Light

this is a pic from a couple of years ago that i worked on over the weekend. it's not where i want it, but i got "Ps cramp".:D not sure where to go with it. any ideas?

thanks for looking. comments and critiques and suggestions much appreciated.

H., Great looking lighthouse and comp. I feel like the light might be nicer w/ some diffused glow along the edges so it's not so stark in comparison to the rest of the image. I love the soft dreamy look of the water and the palm trees. Very nice processing work Dr. Davis

i'm being really lazy right now. :o how do i add diffused glow along the edges. cause i totally agree with you.

Harold, Probably the easiest way to do it is to add a new layer and paint with a soft brush at a very low opacity set to the same color white as the light and go along the edges. You can also adj. the opacity a bit more from the layer palette. That is how I added a glow to one of my moons.

Harold, two other suggestions...

I'd do a linear curves adjustment to separate the tones just a little bit more. I'd bring up the mist on the water's surface as the brightest area and the top of the sky as the darkest.

I'd also narrow the beam a bit especially at the lighthouse end and then gradually take it from bright to a tiny bit darker as it moves away from the LH as if the beam were being cut by the fog.

LOVELY composition on this and so far it's super special - I think a bit more tweaking and you'll be looking at a stunning image.

Base image has lots of potential, Harold..if it were mine I'd probably work on the beam..if you can get that to work..its a winner

Harold, I love the image and agree with Paul about the intensity of the beam - it seems a bit stark.