A Walk Along the Beach

This image did not work as a straight photograph for a number of reasons. The time of day was not optimal, the sky was flat, it was not exposed properly, it was not sharp (HH and very windy). But I liked the composition and kept going back to it, trying to get something useful!

I cropped, tweaked exposure, contrast, sharpening and NR in Lightroom, then took it into PSE and applied the paint daubs filter, then resized for the web.

C & C welcome and appreciated!

Julie, I think it looks lovely. The bird is a bit small and I might make it larger if it were mine. I like the painterly look with just the right amount of softness. I wish the horizon wasn't dead center.

Thanks Denise. I thought the same thing about the bird, but I don't know how to make it larger.:o
I do have more sky and water so I can re-crop this.What do you think-more sky or more water?:)

Julie, If you make the bird larger then maybe the sky.
You can select the bird w/ the marquee tool and then hit ctrl j to duplicate the layer>then go to edit> free transform> then stretch the bird> then go to the move tool and move it where you want. Add a layer mask and clean edges. Hope that helps.

OK Denise, I followed your instructions to make the bird bigger and gave the image more sky. Is the bird big enough?

Thanks for the tip, I love learning something new. I took a PSE class at a local art center but the instructor was a graphic artist and I didn't learn anything specific to photography except how to play with the filters. If I lived in the east-I would take a workshop with you!:D

Julie, I think you did a great job-esp. for your first try!!!:)

Hi Julie,
I love the painterly feel that this has and you did a great job with the bird!
Best,
Ncki

Thanks for commenting Denise and Niki. :)

Hi Julie. I like the look you got with this one. The repost is nice with more sky and the relocated bird! I especially like how the buildings blur as the distance increases. Cool!

Thanks Kerry. I like that too, now that you have pointed it out.
I bumped up the saturation in Lightroom and took this into Corel Painter to give it more of a watercolor look, but then I couldn't export the file, so I had to take it to PSE and try to get the same effect.