Leaf Skeleton

Yes, I am still blogging.  I just had a lot of stuff going on and something had to give.  Family time is not an option to cut out.  My “me” time was spent editing photos from a shoot I did for my husband’s cousin and her family.  I might share some of those a little later. 

But today I am sharing a macro shot.  Your shocked, I know.  Hey, it isn’t of an insect!  This leaf skeleton was still attached to the branch.  It was just too cool looking.  I had to capture it.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

 

If you are wondering how the orangish-brown pops so much, I will let you know how I edited it.  Because frankly I want to know this stuff when I am reading other people’s blogs.  I just see their final shot and think wow.  So while this isn’t a wow shot, I think the transformation is enough to warrant some sharing. 

Here is the before.  Kind of drab.  The exposure is how I wanted it.  I think it has enough fill light and enough shadows, but it still is just ho hum.  The colors didn’t jump out at me.

I ran Pioneer Woman’s free action Boost (available on her site for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements) at 70% opacity.

I added Kim Klassen’s texture Autumn Art.  It was free and if you don’t get her free textures every week, you need to go to her site and sign up for them.  I just added the texture layer and changed the blend mode to soft light.  I adjusted the opacity to 58%.  This is the texture below.

You would have never thought to add that would you?  After taking Kim Klassen’s free e-course, I totally thought of it to make my browns pop.  I have used this trick quite a few times.  It works great!  So I am sharing.

Now here they are side by side.  See the difference?  Don’t you just love how you can dramatically change a photo with some processing?  I never would have known without extremely talented people sharing their knowledge. 

Now I know this photo isn’t going to win any prizes or get enlarged and framed on anyone’s wall, but it is a great example of how much stuff there is out there.  That camera settings can really only get you so far (yes, I definitely could have taken a better straight out of the camera shot). 

So go out and DO some photography, DO some learning about it.  You can blog about it later.  I will be there to read it when you do.  Let’s just inspire each other to DO this week!