Theme: Cave Dwellers
I have a decaying crabapple tree in my yard that the city said (two years ago) they would take down, but they haven't gotten around to it. Yesterday, a pileated woodpecker discovered it, and kept pecking away at a ground-level cavity in the tree. For this image, I rotated it and created it's mirror reflection, and then applied Topaz Impressions Cave Dweller filter, masking out the bird. The filter turned the wood a little too yellow, so I de-saturated the yellow a bit.
I like the shot you got and your processing of the background. While I like what your mirroring did to the background, my own preference -- and this could be just me -- is not to have perfect symmetry. My inclination would be to use the mask you'd created and copy the woodpecker on the right to a new layer, do a Content Aware fill where it is on the layer from which you copied it, and then rotate the copy on the new layer counterclockwise and move it down a bit. That would make the image more dynamic, I think.
Dennis...thanks. I can't quite visualize what you are suggesting. Are you suggesting a 180 degree rotation? And are suggesting rotating the woodpecker but not the background?
I'd done a quick test of the idea before suggesting it and hadn't exited Photoshop yet. Something like this . . . Or maybe flipped horizontally?Originally Posted by Wendy Kates
Last edited by Dennis Bishop; 05-26-2016 at 10:11 PM.
Dennis, I agree...the image is more dynamic as a result of your edits...thanks, I'll work on that.
Well, I like the OP and think the symmetry is part of the graphic quality of the image. I think it would make a nice background for a poster or something like that.
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
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Guess it depends on whether you're hoping for an art piece or a more realistic piece. I like the OP better. Otherwise, it should belong in the avian forum.
I'm good with both presentations. I'm really envious of the great image you got of the Pileated! Such sharp eyes and fabulous feather details! After looking at both images more I notice in image 1 that the large pale center part between the woodpeckers really attracts my eye, then I look back and forth between the woodpecker heads and them looking at each other. I like the symmetry here. In image 2 the different heights of the woodpeckers grab my attention and I like that tension created with the two birds eyeing each other.
Wendy, the base image looks fantastic - great detail! I like both posts. I have Pileated Woodpeckers who live in my woods and one time a pair were on a tree and were perfectly opposed - it looked just like the OP but it was real. Quite a sight and of course I didn't have a camera handy
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince
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Fun image well done! I'd be camping out to shoot it!!
The mirror reflection works really well to emphasize the head of the woodpecker.
Yesterday, a Pileated came to our suet feeder! You are so lucky to have one come and stay a while. They are gorgeous birds.
I, also, like both version. They have very different feels. Interesting what a little change can make. I do like the graphic look of the OP.
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