Japanese Evergreen

[Jay Sheinfield]

Inspired by some of the Asian art available on the Net, I set out yesterday to the local Japanese Gardens. I used big glass to isolate this small limb and get some decent BG.

The processing include normal stuff, but in trying to get this to look more like the period paintings I saw, I tried Topaz Define. First layer, with mask, brushed in the Define effect on only the tree at 100% opacity. Duplicated the layer and (much to my surprise) was able to blend in the Define effect at 30% opacity to the BG only. So, I guess I duplicated the mask with a hole in it??? I'll probably forget how to do this tomorrow....:). Anyway, it is the best my PS skills will allow.

The symbol, hand painted, represents beauty..........

I don't know how to do borders yet, so its uneven, and yes, lame. I'll work on that next.


Nikon D3s
600mm (300mm with 2.0 t/c)
ISO 800
Tripod mount
1/60 sec @ f/14

Comments welcome..............

[denise ippolito]

Jay, I like this a lot. I might evict the branch that lies on the left edge if it were mine. I like the BG colors and the border is a bit uneven as you stated but this is lovely.

[Jay Sheinfield]

I was undecided on that branch..........you helped, here it is, and corrected border. Thanks........

[denise ippolito]

Jay, I think it looks better. I usually decide to keep something in the frame when it is "in the frame". The branch on the left was more out of the frame and looked clipped. Just my thoughts .:) You could even add a thicker border if you wanted. I think your image could stand up to it. You had a good eye for this one and it really does have an Asian flair to it.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Thanks..................here is the thicker border. BTW, do you a link on how to post from PS/CS5, I'm still having color and sharpness problems exporting from LR3.

[denise ippolito]

Jay, This was written by Kerry Perkins and is located in the posting and guidelines sticky at the top of the page. Hope it helps.
HOW TO SIZE IMAGES FOR THE WEB:
Posting limitations are 1024 max horizontal and 800 max vertical. Photoshop will do this for you and size your image within the 200k size limitation. To get the proper pixel dimensions, go to "file -> automate -> fit image". In the box that pops up put in 1024 pixels for the width and 800 pixels for the height and click "OK". These numbers will stay there for subsequent images unless you change them. Your image is now sized properly as far as dimensions. (Note that this constrains the image to these dimensions, so whichever way it is oriented you will be fine.) You will have to zoom the window to get it to display larger on your screen. Now, when you go to "file -> save for web and devices", you will get the interface for doing just that. In the upper right corner of that interface there is a little triangle next to what looks like a stack of paper. Click on that and a menu will pop up. In that window select "optimize to file size". In the next popup window you will see a box for "desired file size". Put 195k in that box just for a little margin of error. Click "OK" and that window will close and take you back to the "save for web and devices" interface. Click "save", give your file a name and a destination and you are good to go. You will get a full-sized image for BPN at less than 200k file size and it will be the best quality attainable by Photoshop.

[Indranil Sircar]

Excellent composition, Jay. Love the lighting and the color palette. Repost on #5 is perfect. Nicely done.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Jay, yep repost on #5 does it for me too. Very nicely done!

[Julie Kenward]

That last post is wonderful - a real balance and the colors in the BG are super. I'm glad you took the other branch out...there just wasn't enough of it to balance out the other one. Super repost!

[Dan Brown]

Thanks..................here is the thicker border. BTW, do you a link on how to post from PS/CS5, I'm still having color and sharpness problems exporting from LR3.

This is just about perfect Jay! Love the bg and the balance! The only thing that I see to improve this would be for you to make the letter within your chop be transparent and show the bg color. Or, you could recreate your chop and have a red circle with red letters on the bg color. Great work non the less!

[Patti Edens]

Jay,

Excellent on the repost. I love those background colors! I am enjoying your enthusiasm for this work - very inspiring.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Jay, I love the last repost. The composition and background are really nice.:)

[Jay Sheinfield]

Thanks everyone. Again, the feedback is great, and the results feel good.:) I'm just starting to learn my way around Photoshop and I do appreciate your patience.

[Christopher Miller]

Lovely repost, Jay! Love the composition and BG colors. Very nice oriental image. :)

[Anita Bower]

Beautiful work. The BG colors are especially pleasing. Thanks for describing your pp--it is a way for us to learn. I like the pp you did here, and the last version is my favorite.

[Arthur Morris]

Wow, I love the final version. Denise beat me to the eviction notice. And I cannot believe that I like the thicker frame! I usually hate all frames. And yes to the Asian flair.