Desert Spiny

[Paul Lagasi]

This little lizard came by for a look but when he saw me, he froze. I managed a few photos before he pretended he was Speedy Gonzales and disappeared.

There are so many steps really can't remember them all. The ones I do remember are:

Created duplicate
Converted to B & W
Used Color Select to capture blue from original. Pasted to image.
Poster Edges to bark
Pixel Bender to complete image
Cropped to taste.

I purposely left it on the darker side.
All comments welcome, either negative or positive.

[Wendy Kates]

Paul, I really like the filters that you applied to the frog...they bring out the texture, and more, beautifully. I also like the way you pasted the blue back in such a striking way. I think the background, though, is too textured...it detracts from the frog a bit. Alternatively, perhaps retaining the texture but lightening up the background would help. I would just like to see more contrast between the frog and the background. But overall you did a great job.

[gary ellwein]

Paul, I like the texture of the lizard. It works well with the lizard's natural texture. I'm with Wendy relative to the bg. Something less bold and with more contrast.

[Dennis Bishop]

The composition is well done, and I think the processing works nicely, too. The level of darkness is consistent with the subject. I didn't notice the blue part of the border, at first, but it fits with the blue you brought back in to the lizard. I agree that the texture in the background could be altered one way or another. With the tail of the lizard being a bit out of focus, it might work to blur the background some.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Lovely detail in the head/eye/leg area. It looks different on my monitors with the Ipad showing more detail in the darkest areas. I wonder about making it all b and w, and leaving it as is. The blue is adding another element vying for attention. Just my thoughts.

[Diane Miller]

Interesting thing with the colors. I love the texture effects on the lizard's scales, but wonder if it might be reduced a little on the bark so there is less competition.