Sunset on Kerala’s Rice Canals
Kerala, India 2009
I used several “texture” layers to get this rather dreamy and colorful effect of Kerala’s rice boats anchored on a spit of land on a backwater rice canal. I shot this in late morning and the light was flat and boring. The rice boat was not sharp. I did like the composition and I love those palm trees. I decided to see what could be done to rescue the shot.
In Adobe Bridge I increased contrast, dodged and burned and sharpened. Using Nik filters such as Viveza, I added more structure, giving it a sharp look. (Nothing can really make a soft photo sharp…not yet anyway.) And I may have tinkered with saturation.
In Photoshop I added my textures, some of which I’d darkened around the edges in an attempt to make the photo look painterly, old and damaged. I used at least two textures trying different blend modes and masking out the areas that were too dark or detailed. Finally, I opened Nik Color Effects 4 and added a glow filter.
Golden Light on Rice Canal in Kerala
This was shot earlier that same morning. It shows that it pays to get up early. I like the silhouettes of the herons standing on the fence in the rice canal. I didn’t do anything to this shot except crop it so the birds would be more prominent. I have shown this shot in its entirety elsewhere. Click the link to see the difference. I like them both.