Last weekend I taught a close-up workshop at Welkinweir. On the Thursday before the workshop I went to the arboretum to scout (and to shoot some) before the workshop. Later, while reviewing the images, I decided I should pick one to use on the cover of the workshop booklet. I needed a horizontal image to fit the layout of the booklet. I picked a shot of a single cherry blossom bud. After completing Lightroom Develop Module adjustments I decided the image would be improved with a soft glow treatment. So I brought the raw file into Photoshop as a smart object so I could easily use smart filters. Since time was a bit short I decided to try quick and dirty method. I added a bit of Gaussian blur and then changed the blending mode of the blur layer to Lighten (I initially tried Screen but I like Lighten better). This gave the image the bright soft glow I was looking for. Then I added the text. Maybe 15 minutes start to finish.
The shooting metadata for this image is:
D200 with 105 macro
1/40 sec @ f/4 , ISO 100
Matrix, Aperture Priority, Comp +2/3
The folks at Welkinweir were very gracious hosts. And the facility was wonderful. The classroom portion of the workshop was held in the living room of the mansion with the big window overlooking the big pond. The spring view is impressive but I’ll bet the fall view would knock your socks off.
On Saturday morning before any participants arrived I walked around the big pond. It was quite a thrill to get to see the pond’s newest resident, a beaver. After seeing evidence of the gnawing and hearing a couple of loud tail slaps I did get a glimpse of him swimming along the edge of the pond. (Didn’t have a long lens with me so no pictures.)
Thanks to the Welkinweir folks for having me. And a special thanks to all the participants who were a great bunch of folks to spend most of the weekend with.