Deer in the Rain
I'm thankful for all of the beautiful wildlife that abounds in Cades Cove for all the visitors to see, up close in many cases.
This deer was rain-soaked and looked quite dark. It refused to lift it's head from the grass. I used Topaz Simplify twice plus Oil Paint in CS6, and then lighten center in Color Efex centered on the deer's head and a little masking in spots. I also increased saturation a little on the trees at the top.
A wonderful thing to be grateful for. Lovely, lovely processing. I especially love the grass. The colors at the top are bright and beautiful, so much so that they pull my eye away from the deer. Because of that, I'd crop them out and a bit on the left to focus on the deer and the grass. Very nicely done.
Judy, I like the composition and the filtering. I see Anita's point about the background but I really like the diagonal line with the trees behind it. I have many deer that visit my yard and I'm thankful every time I see them. I have one doe who likes to take a nap under my bird feeder
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince
http://tuscawillaphotographycherylslechta.zenfolio.com/
Thanks Anita. I tried a crop like that but it just didn't work for meOriginally Posted by Anita Bower
I agree with Cheryl's comment.
Thanks Cheryl! When we lived in the country we had apple and pear trees near the house and often saw deer eating the ones on the ground, and in the woods behind the house, but almost always at dusk and too dark to get a photo.Judy, I like the composition and the filtering. I see Anita's point about the background but I really like the diagonal line with the trees behind it. I have many deer that visit my yard and I'm thankful every time I see them. I have one doe who likes to take a nap under my bird feeder
Lovely scene here..........really like the detail in front and the focus fade in the distance. Gives it a real sense of depth. When I first looked at it, my eyes jumped to the color in the BG. If it were mine I would desaturated the tree color just a bit, since I do like the diagonal of the tree line. Your call, of course.
Judy, Really nice colors in that BG but I agree they pull your eye a bit from the deer. Good suggestion above to tone them down a bit.
When I first looked at the image soon after it was posted, my reaction was that the background commanded so much attention that it distracted my attention from the deer. Feeling that might be largely a personal preference thing, I decided not to comment. There are some strong elements in the image, however, and -- after reading the other comments, later -- I decided to play with them and see what happened. I hope you don't mind such radical messing around with your image.
The deer, of course, the trees in the background, and the two diverging lines (the slant of the hill and the dark grass going through the center of the scene) were the key elements. I used a Curves layer to lighten the entire background. I also lightened the deer, but not nearly as much. The trees were still a strong feature after the lightening, but it seemed like they could be used to bring more attention to the deer if it were moved closer to them. The dark line of grass that was, then, below the deer seemed to work with the slope of the hill in making the deer stand out, even with the leaves in the background.
I liked the idea of moving the trees down so I desaturated them a little and moved them down and lightened the rest of it a bit. Thanks for the idea Dennis!
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