November 09, 2012

Composite Result: Vermillion Lakes

Final composite of the two images below. Vermillion Lakes Under the Stars, Banff, Canada. 

Long night exposure of the stars and glow from the Town of Banff.
Last bit of light on Mt. Rundle. Blended with the night shot above to bring out detail in foreground grass and create the top image. 

I promised in one of my Canada posts that I would share the night composite I did at Vermillion Lakes in Banff. I'm still learning Photoshop, and trying to figure out how I will implement it into my own photographic vision. I'm a big believer in getting the image as you see it in camera at the moment of capture (which is why I like using filters), but there are times when the camera cannot capture your intended vision in camera. After seeing a blog post by Sean Bagshaw on the Photo Cascadia blog, and communicating with Sean about his own process, I knew I wanted to try this technique of blending images in Photoshop. It takes a lot of patience and will, both during the shooting process and the post process, but it pays off in the end. Even if this image isn't the best night composite ever, now I know how it is done and I will be able to create images I never thought I could. That's just it about this whole photography thing: There is always something to learn! 


7 comments:

  1. Wow Lindsay! I realize an artist has to pay the bills. I'm glad you're producing work this frequent. SO FUN to see it!

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  2. p.s. Can't imagine how long it took to get those stars on the water in the final piece! Wow that rocks my world! :)

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  3. p.s.s. And, what time of day was the night shot taken? Just curious. Cool lighting for SURE!
    Okay, I think I got all the comments out of my system:)

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  4. Just kidding. How much are 4x6's?
    Okay, now I'm done. Ridiculous. I come by it honestly. :)

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  5. Thanks for your many comments, Sarah! Hope you're thinking about that free print...
    Actually, I didn't have to do much to place the stars. They were already there in the night shot. When I combined the two shots in Photoshop it really brightened up the water, but kept the stars.
    I wanted the first shot to have the alpenglow (last bit of light) on the mountains, which was at sunset, and the second shot I wanted stars, which didn't show up until about 2 hours later. I had to keep the camera in the exact same spot to make sure it lined up correctly, so trying to keep myself warm and entertained was a bit daunting, but it was worth it!

    P.S. I'll email you about 4x6 pricing.

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  6. Okay, seriously, that time commitment brings me to tears again. So TRUE to your work! KILLING me! I want to discover a way to increase the hours in the day to see more of your work. :)
    Wishing you well!

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