Leaf in the Snow

[Judy Howle]

I used Simplify, Photo Looks, Oil Paint, Detail and 2 textures.

[Dennis Bishop]

This is quite striking. The contrast of textures is wonderful, and I like the yellows and browns of the leaf against the background. I'd suggest adding a little canvas on the right and lightening the shadows on the left a little, but I really like it a lot just the way it is.

[Hazel Grant]

I'd be interested in seeing the original on this. I can't see textures here. That's not to detract from it. It's beautiful. I am just wondering which ones you used. Love the sharpness of the leaf against the texture of the snow.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Dennis. I started out with more on the right but thought it looked more balanced cropped.

This is quite striking. The contrast of textures is wonderful, and I like the yellows and browns of the leaf against the background. I'd suggest adding a little canvas on the right and lightening the shadows on the left a little, but I really like it a lot just the way it is.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Hi Judy, Nice capture. I like the textures and the shimmering snow. A bit more canvass on the right, as Dennis suggested would be my vote. If you like it as is, works for me.

[Judy Howle]

I'd be interested in seeing the original on this. I can't see textures here. That's not to detract from it. It's beautiful. I am just wondering which ones you used. Love the sharpness of the leaf against the texture of the snow.

Thanks Hazel. The little white specks were in one texture and I used hard light I think on that layer. I also used a light blue Flypaper texture that came with the free texture panel from Russell Brown's website, at lowered opacity.

Here is the original. It was made late in the day, hence the long shadow.

[Judy Howle]

Hi Judy, Nice capture. I like the textures and the shimmering snow. A bit more canvass on the right, as Dennis suggested would be my vote. If you like it as is, works for me.

Thanks Jay. Here's a repost where I added some canvas and filled it as I had cropped the image and didn't save it full size in the .psd file, my bad, but it looks OK to me. I also lightened the whole image a few points and did a little dodging on a gray layer over the shadows on the left.

[Nancy Bell]

Judy, I think I like your repost best (pane 7) but actually it is hard to chose. Maybe make the leaf a bit more like the OP? Love the snow texture & the dry, crinkly look to the leaf.

[Dennis Bishop]

I like the most recent version, but Nancy's idea of having the leaf more like it is in the original post is intriguing. I had no idea the white sparkles were from a texture. They were a great addition.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Nancy! There isn't much difference between the leaves, I only upped the mid-tones about 6 points from the OP and erased half of that off of the lightest sections.

[Anita Bower]

Gorgeous leaf-color, light, detail, processing. I like how the tips of the leaf curve inward. A beauty. Also like the snow and the effects you created. I don't know if the two go together. To my eye, the leaf seems to be floating above the snow instead of lying on top of it. But, this seems to be the view of a minority of one.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Anita. As to the way the leaf looks like it's floating on the snow, it also looks like that to me in the original capture with only Lightroom adjustments that I posted. To my eye that part of the image didn't change with the filters, it just got a little darker and more blue with a little texture. I'm not sure I like the blue tint so I may start over from scratch and repost.

Gorgeous leaf-color, light, detail, processing. I like how the tips of the leaf curve inward. A beauty. Also like the snow and the effects you created. I don't know if the two go together. To my eye, the leaf seems to be floating above the snow instead of lying on top of it. But, this seems to be the view of a minority of one.

[Hazel Grant]

Thanks for posting the origina. Now can see the effect. These textures add so much without being "obvious". We tend to think of textures as adding degrees of "fabric" so to speak, adding shadows, etc. Here, the textures enhanced the features. Good choice!

[Anita Bower]

Thanks Anita. As to the way the leaf looks like it's floating on the snow, it also looks like that to me in the original capture with only Lightroom adjustments that I posted. To my eye that part of the image didn't change with the filters, it just got a little darker and more blue with a little texture. I'm not sure I like the blue tint so I may start over from scratch and repost.

So, the leaf was sort of floating above. I, too, sometime have to go back and start over on an image.

[denise ippolito]

Judy, this is lovely! The leaf has so much detail. I like the OP with a sliver off the bottom. Nice work w/ the oil paint filter. I will have to check it out for more of my images!

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Denise! Maybe I'll get around to the re-work soon.

[Indranil Sircar]

Very nice, Judy. There are so many combination in this one... but I go with the original with a bit more space on the right. Nicely done!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Judy, regardless of which image you use (and I like them all) I like the simplicity of the image the most. It's wonderful for the theme.