Thursday, October 13, 2011

Davis Islands....Another Quiet Place

Last week, I mentioned that one challenge I have encountered since moving to the city has been finding a quiet place.  A place where it is a little easier to slow down, take a deep breath, and relax.  While it has been a struggle, I have lived here over two years, so I have found a few places.

Davis Islands is one of those places.  While, it is an island, I refer to it as more of a quaint community (located at the mouth of the Hillsborough River) that is the hidden jewel of Tampa.  It is one of few areas of wide open space.  It overlooks the water and is free to the public, but shhhhhhhhhh....it's not over saturated with people.

Davis Islands is where the photos I will share today were taken.  I have previously shared photos from this location, as it is prime for silhouettes (more here).






Davis Islands is prime for back lit shots too.  I was able to capture some sweet moments between my son and husband during our recent picnic there.


The above SOOC shot I shared for Good to Wow this week.  My edits were simple, which is what I love about backlighting.  If you nail your exposure in camera, your photo needs very little editing, because the creativity comes from the light flooding into the camera while taking the shot.

I opened the photo is Adobe Camera Raw where I adjusted the white balance, increased the blacks (5), and contrast (8).  NOTE:  If you are editing a backlit shot avoid increasing the blacks and contrast too much.  It will eliminate the haze effect, which is part of the beauty of a backlit shot. Now that I look at it, I increased my contrast too much eliminating some of the haze effect seen in the SOOC shot. Same thing with decreasing exposure.  Your histogram will read overexposed, but again that is due to the light spilling into your lens.  If you decrease your exposure, it should be very little.

I, then, opened the photo is PSE 8 and straightened the horizon; duplicated the background changing the layer to soft light at 13% opacity (primarily for a color boost); added a hue/saturation layer decreasing the reds (-6) and increasing master to (8); flattened and sharpened/resized for web.



Since I am linking up with my friend Courtney over at Click It Up A Notch, I should share what I learned.  I learned that if you don't practice what you learned, you will forget.  Well, I already knew that, but it took me a while to get my settings right for these back lit shots, because I hadn't taken any in several months.

If you want some tips on how to achieve the haze affect which is typically a result of backlighting visit Courtney's 6 Steps to Create a Haze Effect.

Click It Up A NotchGood to WOWand then, she {snapped}

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Gorgeous rainbow!

deb duty said...

Love the rainbow, but my favorite is of your cute little boy standing in the tall grass. Really great photo!

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

Beautiful rainbow shots. Love the little boy in the grass and sitting on the man with the shades.

EMily said...

That looks like such a wonderful place...the wide open space next to the water!

Tamar SB said...

What a stunning rainbow!! Your little guy in the grass is just so striking!

Ashley Sisk said...

Simply love.

Unknown said...

Lovely shots! I agree I love backlighting and the beautiful haze effect!

Jaymi said...

awww I love that last shot--soo cute!

Anonymous said...

Love these!

Cedar said...

These are all beautiful!

Courtney K. said...

GREAT capture of the rainbow! Love the one of your little guy standing in the grass. So sweet! Can't wait to see the changes that are coming to your blog!

Anonymous said...

Great photos! My favorite is the last one. :)

Amanda said...

Love your backlit photos! So beautiful. The grass is so green and that rainbow...Girl, what ARE you going to do with all of your gorgeous photos? You could have boxes and boxes of albums and photo books and B. is only 1!
:)

Anonymous said...

Love these! beautiful rainbow.

My fav is the last one :) he is sooo cute! :)

Janell said...

Gorgeous pictures, looks so serene and peaceful!

4 Lettre Words said...

Such a beautiful post, Amber! And, I'm heading over to vote now...

Kmcblackburn said...

Oh my goodness Amber...was thinking you couldn't top those rainbow photos BUT....then I got to your little guy in the field of grass. LOVE that composition in entirety. Just beautiful.

Kathy

Michelle said...

That last photo is priceless, your little man is so adorable :) Beautiful rainbow too!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE the backlighting in those shots! Do you have any tips on how to get the right exposure?

Anonymous said...

Your son is adorable, standing there alone and then on dad's tummy with the sun glasses. Awesome shots. Gonna go try out the haze look now. =) Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Love these photos! That last one in particular is so sweet! And you know I love photos of little explorers out doing their thing! :)