Foggy Sunrise / Still Playing with DAP

This was taken at the Riverlands Migratory Wetlands about four weeks ago. I was out on a shoot with Jay and while we both worked this scene at sunrise, we both had very different takes on it. RAW image processed in LR; applied low opacity layers of NIK Tonal Contrast and Detail Extractor and then brought the image into DAP. Applied the Realism effect after tweaking the settings a bit; save it as a PSD and tweaked the layer opacity once back into PS. I know sunrises/sunsets can be an overwrought subject matter...but for some reason, for the first time in a LONG time, I find myself really drawn to them. :e3

Wow, John, that is gorgeous! The layers of color, the fog and the DAP filtering are just perfect!

John, I am loving your subtle use of the DAP filter. Beautiful composition and colors. I might wish for a teeny sliver more on top. I love the hint of a reflection- it really helps set the mood.

John, this is awesome! Love the composition; the tonal range is just fantastic as is your processing! Wonderful vision and execution!

When the student is ready...the sunrises & sunsets will appear! And with this type of image and processing, John, you are certainly ready for those sunrises & sunsets! The layering of colors is stunning and the image has just enough detail to be intriquing. Super well done!

Hi John.....The layers of colors in this image are beautiful and the feeling of fog amazing! I am not familiar with the DAP filter but it certainly seems to have worked. What is DAP?

John, beautifully done - the colors are amazing as the filtering:S3:

Thank you for viewing and for your comments. Bob, DAP is Dynamic Auto-Painter (http://www.mediachance.com/dap/index.html)...it is a neat bit of kit that allows you to apply various painting styles to your photos. What I am finding is that if you save it as a "Save Special" (saving it a PS file with layers..neat trick!) you have a good bit more flexibility in the outcome of the final image; you can take it back into PS, lower the saturation a bit, lower the opacity and bring back a bit of the original, etc. It's not the speediest app out there, but what it does is unique!

This pic works for me. Great processing!