Lake Erie Sunrise

[Dennis Bishop]

I photographed this sunrise in early October of 2009. The original exposures were nowhere near as golden as this but, somehow, that's how I remember it. I was never happy with the original processing, so I decided to try again.

Nikon D2X, ISO 400, f/8, zoom lens at 18mm, five-exposure HDR

post-processing highlights

• Photomatix -- tone mapping for a good histogram
• Nik Color Efex (both CEP3 and CEP4 -- the original processing was some time ago) -- Foliage and Darken/Lighten Center (centered on the sun)
• Topaz Simplify (probably version 3) -- BuzSim That's where a lot of the color in the tree originated.
• Photo Filter adjustment layers -- Warming, Cooling, and Underwater, most of them masked to specific areas
• Nik Silver Efex
• Kim Klassen texture -- same texture in two layers, blurred different amounts (to tone down the lines in the texture), both layers masked differently, Color Dodge and Luminosity blend modes
• Lighting -- Digital Film Tools' Rays and Red Giant's Knoll Light Factory
• Fractalius -- b&w layer, Multiply blend mode, masked to the water and limestone boulders
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- Stylize Line Art, two masked b&w layers, Multiply and Divide blend modes
• gradient vignette

[Paul Lagasi]

The light coming through the trees almost looks like a zoom blur (if you know what I mean). Only thing I might have done is remove the lines in the clouds around the sun. Lovely effects and composition, well done

[Dennis Bishop]

The light coming through the trees almost looks like a zoom blur (if you know what I mean). . . .

The same thing had occurred to me. That effect is from the Digital Film Tools Rays plug-in.

[Kerry Perkins]

Striking image Dennis, and your decision to revisit it was a good one! Love the water especially, it seems to be in motion. I'm going to agree with Paul about the outlines on the clouds. Great job wrangling all the filters.

[John Chardine]

Hi Dennis- I love the way the light rays are seen emanating from the source through the trees on the right. Also agree that I find the line artefacts distracting- if there were more of them I think it would be fine but with so patchy an effect, I think I would remove. Which of the many filters caused this effect?

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . Also agree that I find the line artefacts distracting- if there were more of them I think it would be fine but with so patchy an effect, I think I would remove. Which of the many filters caused this effect?

I'm not sure if spending too much time with crayons and coloring books as a kid led to my obsession with outlining or if it's due to something else. It gets a mixed reaction.

I use my own Fractalius presets to get outlines that closely follow the edges of elements in an image. The squiggly ones that you asked about are from a preset I've adapted in Alien Skin Snap Art. They're actually not an artifact; they're the desired outcome. For each image, I use sliders to change the number and size of the lines. Inevitably, they're much looser in terms of following the edges than the Fractalius lines are. At times, I've wondered about slightly blurring the layer(s) with the Snap Art lines. Maybe I'll try that with this image . . .

[Mitch Carucci]

Great flow of light! Strong processing. Love the texture in the water. Overall powerful image! It is fun to revisit an older image and see what can be done with new techniques.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Dennis, this has a powerful sense of movement to me - almost a zoom blur as Paul mentioned. I think the colors are wonderful, including the reds in the tree and trunk. I like the illustrated look with the outlines but would be interested to see it with a slight blurring.

[Dennis Bishop]

Thanks, folks, for your comments on the squiggly lines. This new version is a hybrid. All the white lines are blurred. The black lines ended up being on two layers. One is the same as in the original image except that they were masked from the clouds. The second layer is blurred everywhere, so the black squiggles in the trees, water, and boulders are blurred superimposed on sharp (at different opacities).

[Indranil Sircar]

A striking image without doubt... wonderful processing and the repost works well!

[Anita Bower]

The first thing I like about this image is the warm glow that suffuses it! Wonderful light. Next, the rays of the sun spreading outward. Next, the excellent composition--the many elements work well together--the sky, sun, water, rocks, tree.

I like the second version--Excellent. You solved the lines problem of the OP.

It is such fun to go back and re-work old images, with the processing skills we have since acquired.