Rhylstone Cross 1

Original Image(s):

About This Image:

I climbed all afternoon to get to the top of this hill snapping away as I went. I had expected to easily capture the stunning views with the cross in the foreground, however I was having trouble as the correct exposure for the sky left the foreground far too dark and vice versa. I decided to get as many shots as I could and see what I could do once I got them on computer.

What I Did To Original:

Firstly I broke the three elements of this picture out into there own layers, foreground, backgound and sky. The sky layers I simply lightened the top left to enhance the texture of the cloud by using an Adjustment Layer and Feathered Selection. The background I simply lightened and the colour and contrast came through without any further tweeking. The foreground I brightened hugely and also used the Transform tool to straighten the cross which was sloping slightly to the right. Once lightened the colouration of the foreground rocks were creating a really sense of motion that lead into the picture, through the cross and into the clouds. I Dodged and Burned the foreground to enhance this effect.

For a farily static scene I think this picture has a great sense of movement.

Click here for PS4P tutorials on how to do this yourself.*

* Please feel free to download my images (by clicking on original) and use these to have a go yourself. You are also free to use images on your own site or any context you wish, I would ask for a credit where applicable and a link to this site would be appreciated.

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