Spring has sprung

[Cheryl Slechta]

It is beautiful here in sunny Florida and the wisteria is blooming. I used to have some in my yard but it had completely grown over my barn and I had it cut down this winter so I didn't get to enjoy the lovely blooms. So, I did the next best thing and went to Kanapaha Gardens. They must prune heavily to keep theirs in check so there wasn't much to photograph. I used my Orton effect with the blurred layer at -100 Clarity in LR. I added a rustic texture this time which had some purple tones in it and gave it a little bit of texture. I used the Overlay blending mode at about 50%.

[Dennis Bishop]

Nice work, Cheryl. That really feels like Spring. The colors are right, and your Orton treatment adds something special. Very nice composition, too. I don't mind that there isn't a profusion of blooms. Without it, the image has an inviting wispy look. The darker bottom grounds it effectively.

[Anita Bower]

Cheryl: A magical image!!!! Love the light and colors!! Beautiful work.
I'm curious about your overlay method. I've read it several times and tried to follow, but my images don't turn out so well. In this image, did you take a blurred image and an in focus one? Do you put the in focus one on top of the blurred? How do you blend them? Do you overexpose both images? Any help you can give me would be much appreciated.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Thanks, Anita. I take my original capture and in Lightroom make a virtual copy so I'm working with 2 images. I usually will add exposure from 1 to 2 stops in LR on one image and push the Clarity slider to -100 (usually but sometimes it doesn't seem to need as much). On the other image I add exposure from 1 to 2 stops also but usually not quite as much as the one with reduced Clarity. Then in Photoshop, I will do a Gaussian blur (usually around 40) on the image that just has added exposure, copy it and paste it on top of the over-exposed reduced Clarity image. Then change blending mode to Multiply usually at full strength. On a couple of images I've tried copying the reduced clarity image and pasting it on top of the gaussian blurred image - it really depends on the image. This is the first one that I've added a texture. I like the image without the texture as much as the one with the texture I think. Let me know if this isn't clear and I'll repost.

[Anita Bower]

Cheryl
Your explanation was perfect. I finally got it. I just tried it on an image. Many thanks!!!!

[Nick Palmieri]

Thanks for explaining your workflow. Beautiful image, I think the effect works well.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Cheryl - beautiful image and colors. I like the softness of the effects. Thanks for explaining your workflow.

TFS,
Rachel

[Paul Lagasi]

The calendar may say its spring, lots of snow is gone but still darn cold. Last night was 21F here. Lovely dreamy image, Orton rules. I might have cloned out the brown in bottom left corner. TFS

[Roman Kurywczak]

Very dreamy image Cheryl! Great mood and colors and excellent explanation!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Roman, thanks! Hope to see you in St. Augustine in a couple of weeks

Very dreamy image Cheryl! Great mood and colors and excellent explanation!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi, Roman, thanks! Hope to see you in St. Augustine in a couple of weeks

For sure! I am presenting on Thursday and Sunday....with macro on Friday and Sunday am. Sigma will provide loaner lenses! Is Maureen going? We should at least have dinner one evening!