Weekly theme: Starlit Oystercatcher Abstract

Original photo of this American Oystercatcher was taken in diffuse light which gave a featureless light sky background. PP began with Fractalius, rendered with 100 Glow effect to a dark background. The sky was then black but still no features. I masked the bird and water, then added a black layer, then added some Gaussian noise to sprinkle lots of white tiny stars, actually way too many. Then did a levels adjust to eliminate many of the stars. Stars were too sharp so I used the Blur tool to fix that. Finally, used the brush tool at 25% opacity to dot in a few larger diffuse stars. Whew!

Keith, I think your title is perfect. It really does look like a starlit night. The OC is placed well in the frame and the pose is nice. The sharp eye and bill color really adds to the image. Nicely done.

Great work. Keith! The starry sky is perfect for the image. I love the colors, pose, and glowing edges.

Very nicely done Keith, love the colors, the pose and the starry sky!:)

Keith, I love the stars and the glow in the water. Nicely done:)

Keith, I love the stellar oystercatcher! excellent work.