PhotoShopping

If you visit this site often, you know I am a member of Roseville Arts!  I have heard some of the artists there comment about photographers who make "fake" art by taking a snapshot and doing a couple of clicks to turn it into an "artwork."

Well, here is what a project like that would involve.  It is a bit more than some would suppose.  My first image is a photograph I took a year or so ago.  I love this old stone bridge.  It has been revived by the city parks department, and is one of twelve that existed in the area in the 1800s.  It would make a lovely photograph, but no matter how many shots I take they never seems to have the impact that seeing it has.  There is just too much going on there.  The picture is too busy, and the brush clutters the picture, taking away from the main subject, the bridge.

   

Original Image

 The first thing that had to go was that park bench that stuck out from the side of the tree. 
  

Removed Park Bench

  If you look at the second image, you will see that there is a small tree growing on the far bank that makes a line coming down from the large tree in the foreground.  This line upsets the composition and takes away from the bridge.  I moved the tree farther back up the bank to lessen this line.  I also continued to cut back brush along both banks.

First Cut at Brush

 Next I continued to cut away at the brush, but I noted that the stone wall leading up to the bridge was much lower than the bridge itself.  To me the cut in the lines on either side of the foreground tree made an unsettling line in the composition.  To fix that, I added another row of stone to the wall.

More Brush and add to Wall

 

I cleared out more clutter along both sides of the stream, and exposed a very nice little rush of water over some stones and trapped debris.  I also cleaned up a rock on the near bank that had some painted out graffiti. I went back and toned down that tree that I had moved earlier. It is looking much better now.

Last Cut of Brush and Add to Atmosphere

I think it is looking much better without all those bushes and brambles along the banks, but it still doesn't have what I want.  There is just too much bare dirt.  So, I planted some more grass, added some texture, and pushed the color up a bit. 

In the Final Image I added Some Grass and Enhanced the Color

There it is just a couple of clicks and I have a work of art.  Oh, yes total time about 4 hours plus the hours spent trying to get the original shot, and waiting for the grass to grow.