“Silhouette”; January 21, 2012, 10:38pm; BYU-Idaho Greenhouses, Rexburg, ID; f/5.6; 0.3; Canon T3i; No flash
For this one, I used a combination of smart filters and adjustment layers. To start, I applied the “smart sharpen” filter on the image. The radius was about 5 pixels because it really made the water tubes stand out. Then I masked out the sharpen filter completely at the bottom, and about 60% at the top, so that the middle would stand out even more. However, I thought it still needed something else, so I applied the black and white adjustment layer to the image, and masked it out in the middle, where the red light was diffusing on the greenhouse wall. I used a very soft feather to mask it out.
“The Tree’s Closeup”; January 21, 2012, 10:46pm; BYU-Idaho Greenhouse, Rexburg, ID; f/5.6; 1/60; Canon T3i; Flash fired
This edit was much more simple. I simply used two adjustment layers. The first was levels, just to adjust the contrast of the image. Then I used the hue/saturation one. With that one, I did masking so that the effect was most prominent on the parts that were closest to the lens and in focus most. Then I used less as the branches got further back.
Andy, I like your edit titled “The Tree’s Close-up.” I like how you brought the green on the tree out, but my favorite is how you blurred it as the leaves got closer to the edge of the picture. Also, the way you darkened the background made the green pop even more. Good Job!