Sunrise

WPC- Waiting

Up with only a hint
of light we all spring from our sleeping bags
we made a pact the night before
we would be up before the sun
we grabbed warm hats the cook stove some tea
and cups and our bear canisters too
anxiously walking up above our camp
hoping to see the first rays not quite touching the peaks yet (more…)

WPC: Quest

Hungry but this view
just distracting enough how many moments
are you awake
like this, how many more dawns will you see
how many more sunrises will you eagerly await
wrapped in a sleeping bag, mind quiet
enough to hear a soul growing leaning into
the wildness you adore how many more
days spent traveling by foot
carrying enough but not too much
careful my dearest don’t leave just yet
each silent embrace is important for you to wake up
just a little more
from the slumber of the past, keep walking
keep climbing keep sleeping
under the stars (more…)

One Four Challenge– December wk 4

Week four is here. I really appreciate all the comments and feedback from last week. I had fun with the artistic textures and I feel like I want to explore that realm of editing more. It is very satisfying for me.

Here are all the different versions of this month of editing including this week’s version and the original image.

Week 4 attempt
Week 3 attempt
Week 2 attempt
Week 1 attempt
Original

Mackerricher State Park, Fort Bragg CA

This week I started playing with different color tones. For some reason this week, I was drawn to the cool tones. It made the image feel like a brisk morning, before the sun was close to rising. There was a mood of seeing the morning moon on the horizon and being the only one awake. I like how this version makes me want to stay quiet and gives me the sensation of being there, my breath cold and steaming and the beautiful morning stillness surrounding me.

Photo By: Carrie

Details:

  • I started with the image from week 2 and added the cold tone preset from Lightroom
  • I dropped the exposure a bit and played with the highlights, dropping those as well.
  • Then I added a bit of blue and aqua saturation and hue, trying to bring out the brilliance of the sky and a subtle reflection on the water too
  • I love playing with the clarity, for this image I dropped it significantly. I liked the effect on the clouds in particular and it gave the image a frosty air to it as well.
  • Then I lifted some of the shadows and blacks and added a few ticks of highlights to lift the image, it was looking too dark

And, for the most part I felt satisfied with this result. The water may have a tad too much blue in it, but I am going with it.

I can’t believe how much I learned this month from feeling much more comfortable with radial filters to using ND filters too! I have had a lot of fun, I know I keep saying that…but it is really true.

If you would be so kind, please vote on your favorite image and any feedback on this image would be great too! Here are the versions from start to finish and the poll is below. The other favor I ask of you is to go to Robyn’s Captivate Me post for this week HERE and check out all the great work! You can look up all the participants in your tag search as well, look for “One Four Challenge”. Thanks so much.

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