The "Clouds" brush (copied from Avian)

[Fabs Forns]

I've been playing with adding colors and clouds to drab BGs and used PS's Filter>Render>Clouds with soft light as a blending mode in this post:

http://birdphotographers.net/forums/...ad.php?t=56300

I workeed this sky in the posting size, and unfortunately noticed (duhhhhh) that if you tried this on the full size image, you'd get very small clouds on a repeating pattern. In my quest to find a solution, I came across this site:

http://www.brusheezy.com/brush/473-Cloud-Brushes

where someone generously shares his cloud brushes for free. You can increase or decrease the size of the brush according to your needs. I though it was pretty cool. Brushes are supposed to go up to 1600 pixels but I went larger and they were fine. I did it over the bird, thinking of masking it afterward but in general liked the lighter look so I created a layer mask and painted black at a low opacity to keep the look without showing clouds.
What do you guys think????

Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens (mm): 370
ISO: 500
Aperture: 7.1
Shutter: 1/1000
Program: Manual

[Paul Lagasi]

Thanks Fabs...lovely image..I downloaded the brushes..

[Julie Kenward]

I'm supposed to be looking at the clouds but I can't stop looking at that beautiful pink bird! The clouds do look very realistic but wow...that bird...sah-wheeeet!

[Jackie Schuknecht]

The clouds are cool Fabs, thought they were natural, but the bird is heavenly.

[Christopher Miller]

Lovely image, Fabs. Very nice sky you created and very realistic-looking, but the lighting on the bird is what really makes it for me! Very well done! :)

[Indranil Sircar]

Hi Fabs, this is very nice. Realistic cloud effect. Beautiful bird and look down pose as if you are flying with the bird!

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Fabs, really nice looking image with a beautiful bird and good-looking clouds! I have been using cloud brushes for a while and they can really make a difference in an image. Sometimes the sky is just plain boring and I think some clouds can really make a difference. There are lots of free brushes available on the net! In fact, there are brushes of all kinds available when you start looking around. I have some that make foliage, like bamboo and grasses. Lots of fun to play with! :)

[Morkel Erasmus]

lovely work Fabs and something to keep in mind for bland BG shots - would love to see the out-of-camera shot as a comparison??

[Fabs Forns]

lovely work Fabs and something to keep in mind for bland BG shots - would love to see the out-of-camera shot as a comparison??

Thanks everyone, Morkel, check for the twin thread in Avian, I posted the original there.

[denise ippolito]

Fabs, The clouds look beautiful and the bird rocks!

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I like this rendering and am about to download the brushes. amazing how many brushes you can get off the net and most one would not even look at twice. I will check the original image too as I am curious to see how you changed it. TFS ;)

[Barbara Kile]

Lovely sky you created here and thanks for the brush tip! Lovely lighting on this beautiful bird.

[Cindy Mead]

beautiful Fabs- I do the same thing with many of my bland skies, but with texture layers instead. Thanks for the headsup re: the brushes, they add a great sense of depth :)