It was the winter of 2008, we had just moved to NH the month before when the area was hit with an ice storm. Trees and power lines fell, and we were without power for a week - but what an amazing display of micro ice sculpture on the hedges in our yard! This is the most amazing of those I captured.
Feedback Requests
I’m learning the LRC ropes, had always used an older version of PS before. I’ve been watching videos on processing with LRC but welcome any feedback on how this file looks on your screen.
Pertinent Technical Details
Canon 50D on a tripod
Canon 100mm USM Macro
f/16, 0.8 second @ ISO 100
What a great ice sculpture! The snake’s eye, its “scales”, the red color, the BG all work very well. The leftmost part of the snake is a little soft. Have you tried the Adjustment Brush in LR (I use LR5 so maybe it’s even better in LRC)? If you try sharpening just this part, you might get results. Also I’d just lighten up the LLC as it pulls my eye a bit. But it’s a very interesting photo anyway.
What a wonderful find and capture, Jim! It does look like a snake and the red leaf portion reminds me of him shedding his skin. I love how the colors of the oof BG works nicely with the colors in the subject. I agree with Mike’s suggestions as they might improve an already nice image. Well seen and captured.
Jim, this is an excellent ice sculpture and yes it does look like a red snake, especially with that eye! I’ve been learning LRC from David and it does have powerful capabilities. In this case, a radial mask, with increased mid-tone contrast (or maybe even all contrast) over the left curve are worth a try. As a test of capabilities, you could also do some burning and dodging to increase the contrast using luminosity masks in PS over that area. While the LRC mask would be faster, I suspect that PS can give you more local control.
This is a beautiful find, Jim. Actually, I think the perceived softness on the left curve is an optical illusion. When I look closely there seems to be plenty of detail but the duller unlit leaf gives it the appearance of being soft. In LR the local adjustment brush can work wonders if carefully used since you have access to all the controls in the area you’re messing with. I think a bit of boost in texture and maybe some dehaze in that area would give it the pop of the rest of the image.
Jim, what a truly artful look and find of this nature provided closeup here. Can’t add any thoughts on LRC processing beyond it looks really good to me, I’m still old school with PS usage…
Thanks to all for taking the time to look and comment!
I concur that the left side of the ice formation where it makes a U-turn seems to be in focus but due to the light does not appear as sharp. The dark spot in the LLC needs attention as well.
Bill, you are correct! I believe I had posted it in 2008 right after I captured it.
This old file was perfect for me to learn the LRC ropes, which breathed new life into this image. Also to start using some new PC equipment, which was long overdue. New camera, new PC and new photo editing software - I’m looking forward to it all!
This is a really amazing photo and I like it a lot. The only thing I was going to mention was to get rid of the dark area in the bottom left corner but I now see that has already been mentioned.
Based on your feedback, I worked on this file some more - here is the latest version. Using texture and fine-tuning sharpening, I was able to pull more detail out of the ice. I also burned the LLC. This version IMO looks MUCH better - thanks again for your input!
Nature’s miracles, how beautiful they are. The snake is immediately recognizable ans the detail is definitely present in all parts of the ice. No nits for me.
Grt, Ingrid.
