Bottle Tree

[Judy Howle]

A neighbor used to make bottle trees and this one was in his yard during the snow 2 yrs. ago. I don't care for them except in the snow they look pretty cool. I only made one photo and the bottom bottles' necks were cut off so I selected, pasted and transformed the neck of the one on the right and created necks for them and extended the pole down. So I spent way too much time on it! But I might print it in the future so I guess it was worth the effort. Oh, and in my original edit of the image back then I cloned out all the labels on the bottles.

I used Topaz Simplify and Adjust and 2 textures to break up the solid white of the sky and snow a bit but masked the bottles.

[Indranil Sircar]

Hi Judy, it certainly looks cool with snow... very much OOTB! I like the bright colors with oof white bg. Excellent processing in getting rid of the labels and reconstruction of the neck.

[Dennis Bishop]

Nice job on this, Judy. I like the combination of curves and diagonals. The houses in the background add some nice color, but they're blurred enough not to be a distraction. They're placed very well in the composition, too. The Simplify effect on the bottles is great.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Indranil and Dennis! I forgot to add that in the original processing I painted white over the background homes and street quite heavily. The Topaz Adjust brought it out a little more but I liked the effect with the colors that matched the bottles.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Nice work on the bottles, Judy. Good colors and the snow covered bottles hold a lot of interest.

[Steve Adkins]

This is very cool, Judy. Colorful and unique subject. The processing is perfect!!!

[Dave Woeller]

The restoration work you did on the necks is fabulous. A very lighthearted and fun image for sure.

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Jay, Steve and Dave!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Judy, I love bottle trees! I think they are very much a thing in the South. The filtering is perfect and I love the colors with the snow. Nice work

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Cheryl! Yes there are quite a few of them in our city. I suppose it is a Southern thing but I don't know not having traveled much out of the South. My next door neighbor who owns the "chairs in the snow" has one made by that guy.

[denise ippolito]

Never saw one before but it looks neat! I like your processing. I might tone down the one straight line of the house in the BG if it were mine (middle right) if you decide to print. Nice work Judy and very, very creative!

[Judy Howle]

Thanks Denise! I'll remember to check the house.

[Anita Bower]

Excellent cloning work! I would never have guessed. Denise makes a good suggestions. I like how the bottles look due to your processing--just lovely. Good work.