Painting in the desert

[Douglas Bolt]

Canon 5DM1, Canon 24-105@105, 1/1250, f10, ISO 400, HH. Location: Namibia just south of Swakopmund on Tommy's Living Desert tour (http://www.tommys.iway.na/. In addition to the usual adjustments, this image was "treated" (or maybe more accurately, subjected) to Color Efex Pro with Pro Contrast and Detail Extraction, and a slight amount of Underpainting filter to enhance the appearance of sand sliding down the dune. I do not like the outline between sky and sand, but couldn't seem to eliminate it.

[Diane Miller]

...subjected... Great phrase!! I'm going to remember it! But I think in this case it's definitely not a negative.

A very nice framing of the dunes with an interesting treatment. The outline is probably best dealt with by some tedious cloning. Things like that are just a part of digital images but usually don't show until sharpening or strong contrast or color changes bring them out.

[Dennis Bishop]

Nice job with the sand-sliding-down-the-hill treatment, and the color combination is great. A lot of good primary diagonals, too.

The line between the sky and the sand can be fixed fairly easily. Although a Quick Select of the sky includes the line, a Quick Select of the sand doesn't, and -- because of the difference between the sky and sand, the Quick Selection Tool does its job really quickly in this case. Just select all the sand, Copy and Paste it onto a new layer. Then, do a Transform on the new layer and extend it upward ever so slightly.

[Diane Miller]

Excellent idea!

[Douglas Bolt]

Nice job with the sand-sliding-down-the-hill treatment, and the color combination is great. A lot of good primary diagonals, too.

The line between the sky and the sand can be fixed fairly easily. Although a Quick Select of the sky includes the line, a Quick Select of the sand doesn't, and -- because of the difference between the sky and sand, the Quick Selection Tool does its job really quickly in this case. Just select all the sand, Copy and Paste it onto a new layer. Then, do a Transform on the new layer and extend it upward ever so slightly.

Dennis,

Worked great and super easy to boot. Thanks a bunch. Good trick.

[Nancy Bell]

Very dramatic composition of light, colors, and shapes! Beautiful golds, and I like the wave detail in the foreground sand. Great suggestion by Dennis to get rid of that outline above the main dune. I am at the other end of the world right now in Svaldbard, an island hundreds of miles north of Norway. Never expected to get a good internet connection. But that will end when I board the ship Sunday afternoon for a week of sailing in the fiords in the beautiful spring light.

[Judy Howle]

Another nicely composed and processed dunes image. I agree with the comments above. Do post your re-worked image without the line.

[Anita Bower]

I like the clear blue sky, the rich colors of the sand, the dramatic lines and shapes. Nicely processed. Interestingly, when I look at it. the sand sliding down the dune seems to make the dune look concave, that is, bending inward rather than outward. Is it because I expect to see darker shades below, as in shadows, and not above? Glad to know of Dennis' fix for the line.

[Douglas Bolt]

Here's the redo with thanks to Dennis for pointing out the easy solution.

You may see a blue line at the bottom of the image above. That is how much I scaled up the sand layer.