I went out to photograph our new office building last weekend but it was totally socked in with fog and you couldn't see a bit of any of it's nine stories so I wandered over to the nearby pond and looked around while I waited for the fog to clear.
These two white ducks were in the water but everything was covered in a thick pea soup so I intentionally over-exposed this one, trying for a high key type of image. Once I got it into post-processing I realized I didn't quite make it but, because I lightened everything up so much, the lightest touch of blue was showing in the water instead of the murky gray I had seen in the field.
I put a layer mask over the original and burned the beaks and eyes of both ducks to counter the effects of the fog so there would be something for the viewer's eyes to focus on. Then I did a levels adjustment to lighten the image a bit more while deepening the blue just a slight touch. I also left the ducks unsharpened because I thought it would add to the ethereal quality that the fog lent to the image - but I'm second guessing that decision.
The final image is somewhere between a high key and a monochromatic image and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out but keep wondering if I should have taken it in another direction.
Your thoughts?
Last edited by Julie Kenward; 09-13-2008 at 08:47 PM.
Making soup out of a rock Jules !!! Way to go !! The image is pleasing and not sure what else could have been done Do like the poses, positioning and textures. Just wish that other duck was turned a bit !!! Love it !!!
Ducks In The Fog
