Here is my second entry for the One Four Challenge for the month of December. To check out what others are doing in this challenge, just do a search for the tag One Four Challenge in the WordPress Reader.
For this photo I wasn’t quite sure what to do as I usually just find a nice edit for the photo then don’t really revisit it anymore. But, that isn’t what this challenge is all about. It is about creating something different that what you already have out of the same photo. So for this one I decided it go a bit more abstract and bumped the saturation up even more than before then made it a bit more soft. I then decided that the green background needed to go so I underexposed it quite a bit to make the flower stand out even more and give it more of an ethereal type look. For reference I have also included the original RAW and first weeks photo below.
RAW Photo
Week 1 Processing
J.T. Avery Photography 
Ooh it glows!
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Thanks Sarah! That’s the reaction I had when I first got it looking like that.
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Don’t you just love it when the experimentation comes with an almost childish delight? I think we all need a bit of that in our art 🙂
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beautiful!
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Thanks Karen!
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Making the green black certainly makes the colour ‘pop’ and adds a very different feel to the image.
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Thanks Lee! I’ve been working on different ways to get a subject to stand out and trying to get a feel for what works and doesn’t when over extending the boundaries. Sometimes applying too much actually helps a photo more than it hurts it. I’m not sure if it works completely with this one or not but still liked it enough to post it.
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Yes, it’s knowing when too much is too much or knowing when to stop 🙂
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I like this one. Subtle changes, but the effect is noticeable.
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Thanks Anita! With this kind of processing I’m learning more about how to use some of the other sliders in LR other than the main ones. I’m finding it does make a difference when changing each individual colors to get different effects.
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It sure does. There’s a plethora of combinations with those sliders, effects and layers!
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Nicely abstract and arty!
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Thanks Sue! That’s the direction I’m finding myself head towards a little more and want to continue to explore.
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I find myself doing the arty sometimes!
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Ooh..this looks like Christmas lights…great glowing effect
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Thanks Marsha! I was surprised by the glowing effect I was able to get out of this myself. It was more than what I was expecting. Something a little different.
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I like the change of darkening the background but its a tad too oversaturated in colour for me but it does look just like an xmas light now 🙂
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Thanks Stacey! I would agree about the over-saturation in the color but I as I toned the saturation down a bit then the glow effect kind of went away. I like it but yet I don’t. I wouldn’t call it a favorite and probably won’t remember it after a month or two. But I do like the shot overall and I’ve still got 2 more versions coming up. I think this one ties for the least liked of the 4 but it’s so hard to create 4 that all tie for first place.
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Its artistic choice all the way of course and you are in charge of your own art 🙂 Im looking forward to your other versions tho.
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Helloooo Justin 😃
I love this and my first thought was – a candle in the dark!
Really like that you went abstract with this… Its very effective, deep and even a bit moody with the dark background… and it really does glow!!
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Thanks Robyn! Wait until you see the B&W version! I believe every photo should have a chance at B&W. I’ve been trying some high contrast techniques, or as much as you can with LR, and this was part of the learning process. It’s been fun learning what works and what doesn’t. I tend to like it when there are two extremes in a photo that draws the eye. I think it gives the viewer something to immediately notice and then keeps their attention. I did have to soften it up a bit to get it to look a little more of a glow look. I’m not too keen on soft photos. I like them to have a nice sharp focus point. But it’s all in the learning process. 🙂
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Well Im definitely looking forward to it and yes I agree about BW.
Great to hear you excited about experimenting and trying different things!
Good on you Justin 😀
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I’ve decided to save the B&W for last so you’ll have to wait a couple more weeks. I’m pondering on what photo to use for next month though. I’m also wishing I could fill my blog up with more than just these One Four Challenge photos (not that I don’t like them) but for now it’s all I’ve got time to do. I think next month my work load should lighten up a little and I might have more time.
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Do what you can – busyness will always come and go Justin 😃
I can wait and will look forward to next week as well.
Still pondering on mine.
Have one finished, but need to have another look with fresh eyes, to see if Im happy with the direction. You never know on a different day 😜😜
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Lovely, ethereal, dreamy…
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Thanks! It’s like a plant that belongs in a mythical world.
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Great job, so far. but who would expect any less from you? Can’t wait to see what you do next week.
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Thanks Emilio! Maybe I should post one of my failure photos and see if I get any likes? I’ve been getting a lot more throw away photos lately than keepers. But that’s mostly because if more experiments and finding out what doesn’t work vs. what does work. I’m hoping things will continue to piece together so I can start to create new photos that are different from the masses and hopefully be able to create some informational posts on how to do certain things. I’ve also been looking into processing photos to get more of a cinematic look to them and want to try it out. I’ve some some so-so snapshot looking photos turned into interesting photos with just this process. Something I’m very interested in exploring and incorporating into my workflow for landscape shots to see how they turn out.
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I understand how once you edit you don’t usually go back. For me the softness doesn’t feel right and i clamour for the dof of the first image.
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Thanks Ben! I usually go for more sharp photos vs. soft photos but wanted to give this one a go. For me it works but doesn’t at the same time. Don’t really know how to explain it. But all in all, it was a learning process and perhaps I might give the softness a go for other photos but possibly take a bit of a different approach. Lately I’ve been finding I like more of the slightly under-saturated photo looks, kind of like the cinematic feel, vs. the more bright over-saturated look. I think I’ll keep changing what I like and never really stick with just one style but that’s just the way that I work. I have a lot of ideas for experimenting but just need to find the time to do so.
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