Riverbank Trees

10590 Trees along Cedar Creek, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas
10590 Trees along Cedar Creek, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

On occasion, I will photograph a scene that I know will likely not make for a strong image of its own accord but could be an interesting picture by using some Photoshop technique or plug-in.

I noticed this scene near the end of a recent visit to Petit Jean State Park. It was late morning, and the lighting had become very contrasty.  As I made my way across Cedar Creek, I noticed a group of trees on the opposite creek bank.  The yellow leaves were in full sunlight while the trunks were in shade.  I knew I faced two problems with the scene:  the high contrast between the bright leaves and dark trunks and the less than compelling subject matter.  But, as I considered my options, it occurred to me that converting the image to look like a painting might resolve both issues.

When I got home, I opened the file in Adobe Camera Raw and made exposure, contrast, highlight, and shadow adjustments. As I had suspected, the image did not create much interest for me.  I then opened the picture in Photoshop and applied one of the presets available in the Topaz Simplify plug-in to create an image I quite like.

Settings:  Canon 5D Mk II, 200mm, 1/15 sec, f/22

Subscribe for News & Updates

By clicking “Subscribe”, you share your email address (and optionally, your name) with me for the sole purpose of receiving an email notification of new blog posts published on this site. Neither your name nor your email address will ever be sold.

2 thoughts on “Riverbank Trees”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.