flying out of Minneapolis - St. Paul

[Dennis Bishop]

This image is from a photo taken on the second leg of a journey back from Sacramento to Detroit a couple days ago. I'd reserved window seats and had either my iPhone or compact camera at the ready for photos all the way out and back.

Nikon Coolpix P7000, ISO 400, f/8, 1/2500 second, 6mm zoom (35mm film equivalent is 28)

processing highlights

• Topaz Simplify -- saved watercolor preset, 73% opacity
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- saved watercolor wash preset, Color blend mode, 19%
• five textures (Belle Fleur, three from Flypaper Textures, Kim Klassen) -- various blend modes, opacities, and masks with an unmasked yellow photo filter adjustment layer thrown in
• wing layer with Path Blur filter -- Linear Burn, 76%, masked off wing
• wing layer with Drop Shadow layer effect -- Multiply, 36%, masked
• Fractalius -- three saved black & white presets, Multiply, various opacities, one minimally masked
• Simplify -- saved black & white edges preset, Multiply, 57%; Divide, 49%; inverse masks
• Snap Art -- saved black & white line art preset, Multiply 31%; Divide, 9%; inverse masks

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Love the dynamic feel of the wing and the motion blur. The view from above is always interesting. I wonder about a slight crop from the top for even more dramatic tension. Very nice, subtle texture work.

[Nancy Bell]

You are an artist with your subtle mixing and blending! Very well done, as usual! Interesting looking at/through 3 layers, the wing, the clouds and the patchwork ground. The curve of the earth pulls it all together.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . I wonder about a slight crop from the top for even more dramatic tension. . . .

That's an intriguing idea. I always look at cropping for composition, but I didn't think about the sky. You're right -- when I tried it the result was just what you said. The associated changes seem a bit daunting, but I might do it anyway. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Mitch Carucci]

Masterful presentation. (I always try to sit by the window to get cloud pics.)
Love the streaking off the wing tip.

[Diane Miller]

I love the treatment for the clouds, and the outline effect for the plane. My eye goes to the smooth horizon above the wing. I wonder how it would look with that area cloned back to sky and the clouds cloned up on the right to make a more level horizon. But that's just me -- the old pilot in me want to keep the gyros level... Sort of like the admonition to keep the pointy end forward and the dirty side down.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . My eye goes to the smooth horizon above the wing. I wonder how it would look with that area cloned back to sky and the clouds cloned up on the right to make a more level horizon. But that's just me -- the old pilot in me want to keep the gyros level... Sort of like the admonition to keep the pointy end forward and the dirty side down.

I like the pointy end forward and dirty side down guideline. And I see what you mean about what you're calling the horizon. When I go back to the original shot, I'm not sure if that's the horizon, or not. Could be. It looks like there might be two layers of clouds, one above the other contributing to the curved appearance. Honestly, though, that didn't go through my head when I chose this shot over many others taken while the jet was climbing to cruising altitude. It's quite likely that I didn't have the camera level even though I was using a guide on the display. However, I liked it because that slant gave me the sense that we were climbing even though what one would really see is a level horizon and tilted wings. Thanks for you comment about it.

[Anita Bower]

Gosh, I love those clouds! I, too, enjoy the views upon take off and landing. This evokes that feeling. The upper left corner bothered me a bit also. Great processing. I like the subtle colors.