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Twin trees stand guard over the barren fields, bare branches reaching upward. Fence posts march in crooked formation along the frosted roadway. A muted silver-gray sky stretches unbroken from horizon to zenith.
Yes, it’s a cliche - a desolate and stark winter scene to illustrate this week’s white color theme.
But every cliche has its nugget of truth. So I went with it – with this simple image of snow and silhouettes - pared down to the barest essentials of black and white.
To tell my story of winter white.
High-Key Effect
Flipping through back copies of Photoshop Creative magazine in search of inspiration, I came across this super-fast way to achieve a high-key effect. High-key photographs are defined as very low-contrast images with minimal shadows and a focus on white. This seemed to offer intriguing possibilities during my exploration of the color white. Here are the steps:
If the effect is too strong, lower the opacity and/or change the blend mode. Adding this layer really brought out the white tones, further simplifying the image into its defining lines and shapes.
Texture Tuesday Processing
Below is the original image and the Photoshop layers palette.
Linking with Texture Tuesday
11 Comments
Before I read your post, stark was the word that jumped into my mind but beautiful so. Love the contrast between the black and white.
28 Feb 2012 07:02 am Kathryn Dyche Dechairo (@Twitter)
this is beautiful….picture perfect!!!!!
28 Feb 2012 08:02 am robin (@Twitter)
I love the high contrast of this image. Nice use of textures!
28 Feb 2012 12:02 pm Terrie -Creative Explorer (@Twitter)
Love the silhouettes on the stark white- a very effective image.
28 Feb 2012 02:02 pm Leanne (@Twitter)
This is anything but a cliche! The composition is so lovely, with the lines of the fence posts leading us to the trees. You are always so generous about sharing your techniques, thanks!
28 Feb 2012 05:02 pm Gina (@Twitter)
This is stunning!! Stark yes, but, oh so beautiful! I love how you processed this and love the barely visable words that don’t distract from the scene!
28 Feb 2012 06:02 pm Cathy H. (@Twitter)
Lovely!
28 Feb 2012 11:02 pm Joanie (@Twitter)
Stunning and stark. I so appreciate your explaining the process. Love how the trees seem to be reaching up, looking for nourishment.
29 Feb 2012 02:02 pm Kim (@Twitter)
Artfully done, as always–this image could easily grace a greeting card!
29 Feb 2012 08:02 pm Wanda (@Twitter)
Perfectly simple..and simply perfect! Love the silhouetted trees..the contrast. Wonderful winter scene and image.
01 Mar 2012 09:03 am Marcie (@Twitter)
Brenda, this is a truly stunning photograph.
I absolutely love the wonderful minimalism.
Beautifully done!
01 Mar 2012 12:03 pm lisa (@Twitter)
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