"Brush of Yellow"

This was a drive by on the way to catching the sunset along Lake Tahoe. I couldn't

pass up the backlit flowering bushes and the distant composition. The wildfires added

some haze to the scene which increased the saturation of reds and yellows. Please

view the Larger version and thanks for any discussion!

Well done! Good Lighting.

 

Regards,

KK!

Beautiful warm colors. The dark layer of trees between the foreground and the sky gives depth to the scene..

Beautiful photo! Cheers!

Mark, I find that taking sunsets that are pleasing is very difficult. You certainly have a fine one here. The colors and the light truly capture the essence of the scene. The fires probably did help soften the harsh sun. Very nice!

 

Regards,

 

Dick

Beautiful use of textures, light and depth. I love the colors in the sky! This is truly a remarkable photograph Mark!!!

Hey Mark, fantastic photo man. I'm curious about the flare, you can obviously see a little coming directly from the sun but did you have to clone out some flares anywhere else? Shame about the fires but great job making the most of it. Amazing how far the smoke can travel from the fires. We've got some big ones a few hundred miles from Vancouver and the smoke gets so bad at times you can't see more than 15 miles...

Thanks Kiran, Claude, Dr. Didi, Richard, Donna and Ryan. This was smoke from a fire unrelated to the ones you all are hearing about now near LA. The smoke was actually subtle, yet very effective at sunset. Ryan, as for the flare, I did deal with a couple of spots. I don't clone them unless they are real bad. If they are the green, orange or yellow kind with image detail available underneath, I just add a blank layer and change the blend mode to color. I then click back to the background and sample some color near the flare with the eyedropper. Then I go back to the "color" blend mode layer and paint over the flare with a soft brush. Now the flare is the same color as the surrounding area, but usually the flare area is lighter and flatter, so I make a quick mask of the flare area and make it into a clipping mask with a curves layer. I add an S curve to darken and add contrast to the clipping mask. The S curve only alters the flare area. I can then modify the mask to help it blend. It works well unless the flare obliterates the image info, then cloning or using selection with cut and paste techniques are necessary. If you are blending multiple exposures, you can simply place your hand over the lens to block the sun and sky when you are making the foreground image exposure. It often reduces or eliminates the flare, and also avoid filters on the lens. I guess you can tell I have dealt with alot of flare challenges.

Mark,

Wow...another beauty. I love the colors.. Regards, Patsy

Beautiful, transition between colors are superb and very natural.

Thanks Patsy and Uzay for stopping by!

You got yourself a nice capture here. The backlighting on the flowers and your incrediable sky add to a beautiful pastoral scene. Nicely done and well excuted..RAY

Simple, and simply beautiful. Soft, subtle color treatment like this takes skill and effort, even with some help from the haze. The flare you left in the immediate vicinity of the sun adds to the effect.

 

Thank you for occasionally taking the time to provide some details on techniques you've developed to deal with specific problems. Few do that, and it is useful for those of us who are less experienced in working with color.

 

Jim C

very nice.

Great light! Beautiful landscape. Regards

Unos colores sorprendentes. Felicidades

This one caught my eye as I was scrolling the critique forum. Lots of shapes, colors and textures make this a very interesting scene. Good work!

The sunset light is just excellent- making the bushes lit up for the last time of the day. Best regards.

Sheer perfection! I am amazed by your technical skills, Mark, and thanks for explaining how you handled the flare. It's apparent to me that I have to learn how to edit if I am to do the kind of work I aspire to. These kinds of images don't happen by themselves (well, maybe in a rare instance), and it's your outstanding knowledge and artistry that makes them so extraordinary!

Thanks Lefty, Jim, Gina, Diego, Javier, Kathy, Sonali and Christal. I love sharing what I know. Christal, for the purist, the capture is the end of the process. For the creative artist, the capture is somewhere in the middle. I think you fall into the latter category. Go and get CS4 and I will be glad to offer help when I can!!

An intriguing, beautiful and dramatic image. Rich in color and detail, congrats rek.

 

It's wonderful! I too love the backlit Rabbitbrush. The colors are luscious.

Wow. Lots of comments. Not wander. This, and all the others, are beautiful images. You have your distinctive beautiful style, and your colors are wonderful too.

 

Cheers; Bela