Unlike with film rolls of the past, where you didn't want to waste your 24 or 36 shots, digitally you can click away (and delete) with abandon. But sometimes you keep a less-than-stellar image because, well, it was a lovely place and you'll probably never be there again. As I did with my view overlooking the town of Château-Censoir where we had stopped on our boat trip down the Canal du Nivernais in France.
To transform it into the backdrop for this composition, I used Camera Raw in Photoshop, Topaz Impressions and the Paint daubs filter in Photoshop, plus a texture applied to the sky. All this to tone, add contrast and some vignetting, plus give it a more painterly look.
Next, I found a great fox image by JackerKun in Pexels. Jesús Ramirez has an excellent video on how to cut out fur from busy backgrounds on the Photoshop Training Channel. I also used this technique on the two chipmunks (also from Pexels, by Skyler Ewing), although they are so tiny the work on their fur is not apparent. While the fox is looking up somewhat in the original photo, I used Photoshop's Puppet Warp to turn his head and thus his gaze more skyward, and I toned him to blend into his surroundings
The photo of the hawk by Petr Ganaj in Pexels was so sharp that I slightly blurred all but the head to give it a more realistic look in terms of the composition. I also added three birds on the skyline with a bird brush. The last touch after the chipmunks was some detailed bits of shrubbery around them.
As usual, it took me way too long to do. But getting each step, each element just right is so absorbing that time flies by. And I feel so fortunate to get to spend my time doing something that I love.
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