Burning Bush Blur

[Dennis Bishop]

This is from an in-camera blur that's been waiting four years to be processed. (No, I'm not catching up. Much to the contrary, actually.) Since starting to work on this a couple days ago, I've been wondering whether it really needed any post-processing, at all. Somewhere in the distant past, I had an ancestor in the hills of West Virginia. Family lore has it that he didn't have a first name for several years. Finally, because he kept tinkering around with things, he was named Tinker. If it is true, I must've gotten an overdose of his genes because I just couldn't post this image without doing something to it.

Nikon D2X, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/10 sec, 105mm macro lens

post-processing

• Adobe Camera Raw -- Temperature, Tint, Clarity, Saturation, and Luminance
• rotated 180 degrees for composition
• Flypaper Textures -- two different textures, one at Color blend mode, the other at Soft Light
• Joel Olives Texture -- Screen blend mode
• duplicate of background layer at low opacity
• Vibrance adjustment layer
• Nik Color Efex -- Darken/Lighten Center, Vignette (purple)
• Fractalius -- Embo at Normal blend mode, Glow100 at Screen blend mode, both at very low opacity and gradient masked with highest visibility at top
• Fractalius -- two B&W presets based on the old Sketch, both blurred and Multiply blend mode
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- Stylize Line Art (turquoise), two layers at Multiply blend mode, one blurred
• background and texture layers stamped and flipped horizontally, low opacity
• Photo Filter adjustment layer -- green, gradient masked with highest visibility at top
• olive green border, Luminosity blend mode

[Dave Woeller]

Hi Dennis, If tinker you must, then tinker away. It's wonderful. I especially like the presence of two diagonals. One with the red petals and the other of the darker shading. The only part I might tinker with just a bit more is the lighter green highlight near the upper left edge. It seems to keep drawing my eye over there a bit.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . The only part I might tinker with just a bit more is the lighter green highlight near the upper left edge. It seems to keep drawing my eye over there a bit.

Thanks for your comments, Dave. I think you're right about that light green. It seemed like a good idea when I lightened it along with the rest of the top, but it does act like an eye magnet. The Fractalius Glow100 in Screen blend mode is the offending layer. I've added a gradient mask from the left part way to the right to tone that down.

[Paul Lagasi]

Tinker, tailor, candlestick maker...ok getting off track...I love the image, a very pleasing blur, my kind of framing. Well Done

[Anita Bower]

Nice! The title is good, and influences how I view this abstract. I often don't quite know how to approach an abstract. The colors are lovely, the diagonals pleasing. I prefer the OP, but think the upper left area could be darkened just a bit to more closely match the lower right.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Dennis, beautiful work - I love both of them! The colors and lines are so pleasing together. I hope you've got some more blurs for us

[Maureen Allen]

Lovely blur, Dennis. I'm not usually big on blurs, but this one is very attractive. I prefer the second post.

[Judy Howle]

This is one of the nicest blurs I've seen Dennis! The colors are very pleasing and your processing and textures worked well.

[denise ippolito]

Super! I love the colors, flow and the filtering adds the perfect touch. I'd hang it on my wall for sure!