One of the great things about Photoshop is that it gives you the ability to be creative in ways you just can’t be with a camera alone. This image is a perfect example of that.
On a trip to the Smoky Mountains several years ago, my wife and I were driving to Clingmans Dome one evening. Seeing a small pullout, we stopped to take in the incredible view of the tree covered mountains and the beautiful cloud formations that were before us.
Setting up my camera, I composed the picture so there were three distinct areas that created the perception of depth and distance: the large foreground tree on the left of the frame, the tree-covered mountain tops that run from the bottom right corner of the picture up through the middle of image, and the silhouettes of the ridgeline in the distant background.
Processing the image, I liked the composition, but I just couldn’t quite get the final image I wanted. I tried a number of things, but nothing really worked the way I wanted them to work. Determined to get something from this, I decided to leave it alone for a while and see if I could come up with some ideas.
After letting the picture sit untouched for a few days, I went back and took another look at it. I began to wonder what it would like as a watercolor painting. With that thought in mind, I applied Topaz Labs’ Photoshop plugin Simplify. This plugin, which is now available as part of Topaz Studio 2, allowed any photograph to be converted into any number of art types from line drawings to oil paintings.
After using the plugin and adjusting a few of the sliders, this was the final result. It reminds me of something the late Bob Ross might have painted had he been standing there that evening. It’s something that could not have been created with just my camera. And, it’s that ability to be creative that is one of the great things about Photoshop.