2017 Project 52 - 3rd QTR - Sandy(Skitterbug)

[skitterbug]

It is the third quarter of P52 already! I haven't changed my goals much since I am still trying to be comfortable with settings, use of camera and picture set-up. I am venturing into post-processing more and will probably focus on this area. It would be nice if every picture taken needed absolutely nothing done to it to make it perfect! <chortle>
My 1st Quarter is here and 2nd Quarter is here if anyone is so inclined to look at my past efforts.

I want to start this quarter with two pictures that are unrelated. The first is a Grey Treefrog - Hyla Versicolor. My hubby was trimming bushes in front of our home and for some reason decided to look inside of the bush. This little fella was sitting there in spite of the noise! I really like how he seems to be making a pillow by crossing his legs under his chin.

For both of these pics, I did do some tweaking in Light Room and hope to become more comfortable with Affinity Photo. Comments are always appreciated!

#1 - Grey Tree Frog



The second pic is the first bloom of a yellow perennial water lily we added to our koi pond this year. I don't know what I did with the slip so I can't give the name for it, but I really like the two tones of yellow.

#2 - Yellow Water Lily

[Wavelength]

Both images are superb; how can one distinguish this frog if it sits amidst pieces of granite stones?

[skitterbug]

Both images are superb; how can one distinguish this frog if it sits amidst pieces of granite stones?

He would be very difficult to spot on granite with lines going every which way! Thank you for your compliment! Makes me happy!

[Urbanflyer]

It is the third quarter of P52 already! I haven't changed my goals much since I am still trying to be comfortable with settings, use of camera and picture set-up. I am venturing into post-processing more and will probably focus on this area. It would be nice if every picture taken needed absolutely nothing done to it to make it perfect! <chortle>
My 1st Quarter is here and 2nd Quarter is here if anyone is so inclined to look at my past efforts.

I want to start this quarter with two pictures that are unrelated. The first is a Grey Treefrog - Hyla Versicolor. My hubby was trimming bushes in front of our home and for some reason decided to look inside of the bush. This little fella was sitting there in spite of the noise! I really like how he seems to be making a pillow by crossing his legs under his chin.

For both of these pics, I did do some tweaking in Light Room and hope to become more comfortable with Affinity Photo. Comments are always appreciated!

#1 - Grey Tree Frog



The second pic is the first bloom of a yellow perennial water lily we added to our koi pond this year. I don't know what I did with the slip so I can't give the name for it, but I really like the two tones of yellow.

#2 - Yellow Water Lily

Love the frog! Might consider taking out the blur of green in the far lower right corner.

The water lily is nice--consider not centering it--and perhaps adjusting the color a bit unless it really was that yellow.

Fun to grow even at our ages!

[skitterbug]

Love the frog! Might consider taking out the blur of green in the far lower right corner.

The water lily is nice--consider not centering it--and perhaps adjusting the color a bit unless it really was that yellow.

Fun to grow even at our ages!

I wasn't feeling my age......until I did that belly flop onto the asphalt! Wow! Rude awaking! <chuckle>
But I do love to learn! I'll consider a slight crop for the grey tree frog and see what I think. I left it originally because of the little bits of green that are currently part of the picture.

There wasn't much advantage to shifting the lily either way so I decided to use a square crop for it. Normally, as you suggest, having something not quite centered seems a bit more natural or perhaps interesting. I'll take another look at it to see if it would make a difference.
Would you believe that this lily is really that yellow? It is truly a beautiful blossom and I am looking forward to seeing more of them this summer.

Thanks for commenting! Hope your day is a good one!

[Urbanflyer]

see if you can remove the green blur with your pp tools rather than cropping..challenge!

[Geoff F]

Also tone down or clone out those bright spots near the top edge.

But these are just minor tweaks; the basic images are good.

[Shadowman]

Nice shots.

[skitterbug]

Nice shots.

Thank you John!

[skitterbug]

Also tone down or clone out those bright spots near the top edge.

But these are just minor tweaks; the basic images are good.

I've given your suggestion a try and I'll post the results in my reply to Judith. See what you think and feel free to C&C. I am glad you like my images though! I was pleased to get both!

[skitterbug]

see if you can remove the green blur with your pp tools rather than cropping..challenge!

Okay then - I've taken up your challenge along with Geoff's suggestions and the fun begins. It is definitely new for me to try and correct a photo with tools that I have never used before. The results are not as tidy perhaps as I'd hoped for but below is a try using "dodge, burn, sponge, clone and smudge" within Affinity Photo. Not necessarily in that order however! Once I finished, I did crop a very tiny bit to even out the edges.

So all comments and suggestions will be welcomed!

Grey Tree Frog edited to remove lower leaf and light spots.

[Urbanflyer]

eliminating the background in the upper right corner has left a void. I think all that was needed was to burn in the bright spots on the sticks that were there rather than eliminate them altogether. You have done a good job eliminating the one blurred leaf I mentioned

[Geoff F]

Looks good now, Sandy.

[skitterbug]

eliminating the background in the upper right corner has left a void. I think all that was needed was to burn in the bright spots on the sticks that were there rather than eliminate them altogether. You have done a good job eliminating the one blurred leaf I mentioned

I decided to go back and give it another shot. It is hard "burning" and getting the area to look natural so I opted for the results that I'll post below. I haven't developed any sort of technique yet for how to approach blending/darkening areas but each time I try, it does help me become more familiar with the tools that are available. I will definitely be interested in opinions or comments. Thanks!

Edited Grey Frog

[skitterbug]

Looks good now, Sandy.

Hi Geoff ~ Thank you for commenting.

I did try PP once again to see if I could regain some of the top corner without too much destruction! I know what I would want the picture to look like but trying to get the tools to do what I want can be frustrating.

[John 2]

Final version definitely hits the mark for me and what an interesting creature.

[Urbanflyer]

Hi Geoff ~ Thank you for commenting.

I did try PP once again to see if I could regain some of the top corner without too much destruction! I know what I would want the picture to look like but trying to get the tools to do what I want can be frustrating.

Yes! Bingo! One tip on burning and dodging is to use the right size soft brush-- and go slowly, i.e. 10%, repeating as needed.

[skitterbug]

Final version definitely hits the mark for me and what an interesting creature.

Thank you John! I agree this tree frog is a beautiful creature. I knew we had tree frogs but I didn't realize that they were any other color but green! I hope to see more of them.

[skitterbug]

Yes! Bingo! One tip on burning and dodging is to use the right size soft brush-- and go slowly, i.e. 10%, repeating as needed.

I found frustration levels going up when I couldn't adjust the colors as I would like to do. There is probably a way, but I haven't figured it out yet. And you are right, size of brush matters! I'll watch the percentage next time I make an edit with burning/dodging brushes.

I'm glad you like this edit. Thank you for your encouragement!

[skitterbug]

So this one is a bit dramatic but it is pretty much true to the original pic I took. We had storms off and on a few days ago. It looks like it might be a little off horizontally but the tree line does flow in this manner. I didn't crop anything because I wanted to include the whole cloud that I saw at that time. I did use tools to remove an electric pole and lines that were at the tree line and I think I am improving in that technique! (one of my goals for this quarter! P&P improvement) I have this pic currently as my desktop pic and I really enjoy looking at it. C&C always welcome!

Threatening Clouds