Just a peek

[Kris_Smith (Kristen M Smith)]

Image(s)

Image Description

Another of my favorites from last year. I was tooling around in a backwater on the Somo river that I hadn’t spent much time in before and not only did I see a muskrat swimming along, but a lot of Painted turtles. They are my constant companions when I’m in the kayak and I never tire of their company. Their beautiful colors and plucky demeanors always make me smile. This one didn’t budge despite the fact that it looks ready to. It could fit in the palm of your hand. Another turtle came along and tried to get up there, too, but gave up. King of the Stump!

Feedback Requests

I go back and forth about the reflection of its face and whether to leave it. Because it was actually there and is kind of fun, I haven’t cloned it out.

Pertinent Technical Details

Handheld in the boat as usual

Lr for a lot of masking work to reduce the effect of the large leaf covering the stump. The light wasn’t strong enough to allow a polarizer comfortably, so I went with the dehaze slider mostly. Removed some distractions in the water, but left some debris. Brought up texture, sharpness and clarity in our wee beastie. Square crop because I think it complements the geometry in the scene.

[Diane_Miller]

Very cool!! I love the reflection!! The water and BG are gorgeous, but I can’t tell the leaf is a leaf and wonder about a crop from the left to a vertical?

[Mark_Seaver]

Kris, the pose here, peeking around the leaf, is good for a big grin. The red shell stands out well in the midst of all the green.

[Willemd (Alexander Willem Degroot)]

I love the story behind the image and, as someone who is on a steep learning curve, I really appreciate your explanation of how you took and edited the image. To me the star of the show is the turtle’s face. I picture an old man who is keeping an eye on you, but not alarmed. The detractor in the image is the leaf. Just as a test, I tried @Diane_Miller 's suggestion and turned it into a vertical, kept the reflection, and darkened the leaf a little. Certainly the original does a great job of capturing a moment in time of nature.