April Squares: Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

This original file was taken in Zion National Park several years ago at sunrise.

ISO 800 f/16 70mm 1/800sec

The first edit included a crop and using the erase tool to take care of some visible dust spots:

ISO 800 f/16 70mm 1/800sec

Another first edit was to change the camera profile. Here is a screen shot of where that change can be made in Luminar AI:

This shows camera profiles

The check indicates that it was set to Luminar Default, but I switched it to Camera Landscape which gave the colors a bit more of a rich feel. I also created a layer mask and have increase the exposure and shadows in the foreground only. I think it is important to note that I set that mask to 20% opacity in the mid-ground and 50% in the closest part of the image. I’m attempting to bring back some but not all detail. The focus of this photo is really intended to be that sunburst.

I really also wanted to create a square version as I think this scene is well suited to that:

ISO 800 f/16 70mm 1/800sec

I’m having a bit of fun with the color here as well by adding a LUT called, Analog look 5, which is basically a film filter.

I like these various edits, but each for a different reason. Your thoughts and comments are welcome below.

Cheers!

Added to Day 27 of April Squares.

April Squares, Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

On the drive between Bryce and Zion National Parks, I spotted this:

ISO 800 f/5 200mm 1/3,200 sec

For a fun square edit I’ve added the Template, Sunset, set at 80%. I then added a light leaks texture:

ISO 800 f/5 200mm 1/3,200 sec

Your thoughts and comments are welcome below.

Added to Day 20 of April Squares.

Cheers!

April Squares: Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

Who can resist a cute prairie dog? Answer: A lot of people who consider them pest.

They are cute though:

ISO 800 f/5 148mm 1/2,000sec

This original image I’ll be working with to enter in to my photography club’s photo contest in the nature category. Those edits will be require that I not use many filters, so first I decided to create a fun square edit:

ISO 800 f/5 148mm 1/2,000sec

This edit has the Luminar template, Faded, added to it. I then added a canvas texture set to 20%. While this will not be appropriate for my camera club, I think it is fun. Your thoughts are welcome below.

Cheers!

Added to Day 16 of Bright Squares.

April Squares: Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

This original image, is quite nice but obviously underexposed:

ISO 800 f/16 170mm 1/2,000sec

My first edit was to apply the template, Fast Fix, and also crop the image just a bit:

ISO 800 f/16 170mm 1/2,000sec

I’m happy with this edit to go in the digital photo frame I am working on, but I was curious about creating a different version with a square crop:

ISO 800 f/16 170mm 1/2,000sec

It brings into focus just part of the landscape, so has a different feel than the original crop. I’ve also added a vignette. Your thoughts on these edits are welcome below.

Cheers!

Added to Day 13 of the Bright Squares challenge.

April Squares: Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

Today’s photo I edited two different ways because I will be presenting them two places. Here is the original file:

ISO 100 f/8 4.3mm 1/320sec

The first edit is for entry into my camera club’s photo competition, so there are specific rules about what edits can and can’t be done, but the overall thought is that the final edit would be a representation of the scene as it was when you shot it. So, edits for this include things like white balance and shadows and highlights:

ISO 100 f/8 4.3mm 1/320sec

The second edit, is my square edit, which other than being a square has no other limits on the edits:

ISO 100 f/8 4.3mm 1/320sec

For this edit, in Luminar AI I added the LUT, analog look 24, and a light leak texture overlay.

I like both edits for different reasons. The first edit is a good detail study of the scene. The square is a bit more romantic and expresses a nice summer vibe. Your thoughts and comments are welcome below.

Added to Day 12 of April Squares.

Cheers!

April Squares: Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

My original file looked like this:

ISO 200 f/7.1 105mm 1/100sec

For the square edit, I have added the LUT, Bakersfield, and also a vignette:

ISO 200 f/7.1 105mm 1/100sec

I chose that LUT because it was very similar to the tones of the original image but emphasized the soft feel of the scene. The crop took care of the distracting wire.

Added to Day 8 of the April Squares challenge.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome below.

Cheers!

April Square: Bright Spots

For the April Squares challenge this month, Becky has chosen the theme “Bright”. My entries this month will all be called Bright Spots. My photos in this series are selected from a project I am currently working on. I have received a digital photo frame as a gift, and I have been going through my archives for photos to include. What fun it has been to do that, a bright spot in my life for sure. I’ll include a bit about each photo entry. Here is today’s entry:

ISO 400 f/5.6 1/1600sec 135mm

Taken in August of 2010 on a whale watching trip off the Bay of Fundy. This photo has the Luminar AI template, Cold Currents added to it. Your thoughts are welcome below.

Part of April Squares, Bright.

Cheers!