Post Processing the Stone Tree

I was pretty pleased with the pictures I took of the stone tree in Bolivia (see previous blog) so I thought I would share with you some of the versions of one picture I made when post processing.
I always start with opening up the pictures in Lightroom 4. I then produced one straightforward picture just using the adjustments in Lightroom


I then took this picture in to Nik Color Efex Pro 4 and used the Tonal Contrast filter to bring out some of the detail and add a bit of punch. I then used the reflector Efex to open up the dark area inside the 'tree' and slightly reduce the tree's shadow. I used this picture as a base for the others.


I then worked further on this picture. Back in Color Efex I used a custom filter to give a high key image, which makes it look a little post apocalyptic.


I also took the base image and again in Color Efex used the Polaroid Transfer filter to give a bit of smear and a softer look. I quite like this effect.


Here it is with its 'polaroid' frame.


Finally I used Silver Efex Pro 2 to give me a black and white. I used the Kodak Tmax setting to give me a base and worked on the picture in Silver Efex using the sliders. I am not so happy with this as the tree does not stand out so well against the sky in the black and white version, although the overall contrast is good. 
In all the pictures I minimised the effects of structural enhancement on the sky to stop the clouds looking too unnatural.




So one photograph and six different versions. What a way to spend an afternoon!









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