White Birch dream

[John Chardine]

This was from two images- a blur and a still- combined in layers with about 40% opacity on the still layer. Then I did a series of edits including a NIK Color Efex detail enhancer on the blur layer, then painted in some saturation and desat. As I continued to work on the image using different soft brushes, it really felt like painting. It was a lot of fun.

[Cheryl Slechta]

John, this is absolutely lovely. It almost looks like a multiple exposure. I wouldn't change a thing

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi John, great to see you posting here! Really nice work, I love the look and feel. Definitely has a dreamy quality, glad you had fun doing it! Hope to see you here more often.

[Dennis Bishop]

I love the colors; the composition is right on, and the combination of still and blurred is a great technique. Beautiful work.

[Maureen Allen]

That's beautiful, John The soft, gentle flow makes me wish I were there.

[Indranil Sircar]

Excellent composition, John. The overlays of the two images have worked beautiful here. Love the soft colors and painterly effect... perfect for a wall hanging!

[John Chardine]

Thanks everyone! I think for the wall I would remove that little white line right in the middle of the image. Totally missed it during processing!

[Dennis Bishop]

Thanks everyone! I think for the wall I would remove that little white line right in the middle of the image. Totally missed it during processing!

There was so much good happening, I hadn't noticed the white line. With it or without it, I still think the image is awesome.

[Judy Howle]

You did a wonderful job with combining the images and processing. It's a beautiful scene with excellent composition, very appealing!

[Clyde Hopper]

I can definitely see this on the wall !

[Anita Bower]

The trees look like they are in water. The image does have a dreamy quality. Beautiful shades of color that are serene. I like how the trees bend in different directions, as if they were dancing. The thin, dark branches and the water effect at the bottom contribute to the sense of slow movement. Beautiful work.
Could you elaborate on painting in saturation and desaturation with different brushes?

[John Chardine]

Hi Anita- I wanted to boost the warm tones coming mainly from the cattails behind the birches but also the birches themselves, as the light was warm at the time. I just used the Sponge tool set to Saturate mode with Vibrance checked, and set the brush to 0 hardness and about 50% flow, then adjusted brush size to suit and painted away.

[Anita Bower]

Hi Anita- I wanted to boost the warm tones coming mainly from the cattails behind the birches but also the birches themselves, as the light was warm at the time. I just used the Sponge tool set to Saturate mode with Vibrance checked, and set the brush to 0 hardness and about 50% flow, then adjusted brush size to suit and painted away.

Thanks! I'm going to try this tomorrow! :-)

[Paul Lagasi]

John, I am a little late to the party, very nice work. It would really look nice in a frame. Well done.

[Nancy Bell]

I agree with everyone. This is fantastic!! A really great idea using a blurred and focused image and blending them together.

[John Chardine]

Thanks again everyone.

[John Ippolito]

Excellent wispy effect with the two layers, John. Beautifully done with great depth gazing to the far bank. Lovely work !!