Australia Edit Challenge

Can't believe it! :>)

A fun part of the Edit Me Challenge are the photos from other parts of the country or world.  It's a mini travelogue!

Our photo is from Kaylene Maalste of Australia.  I love looking through her digital artwork. You can find her here!

"I am retired and live in Berri, Australia with my husband and bossy cat. I have always been interested in creating, in my early days it was playing around with beading, paper maiché, mosaics, quilting and embroidery. I always felt that I needed to focus my creativity into one if not two mediums and I have accomplished this with Art Quilts and photography. My surrounding countryside is full of many different landscapes, in fact sometimes I do not need to even leave my garden."

For this challenge I wanted to strategically arrange the composition ...  

• level the horizon
• reverse the photo so the wheel was on the left - with the longer branch leading the eye to swoop left-to-right, up and across the photo
• take out a few branches to keep the focal point on the wheel
• lighten the bottom corner to also keep the focal point on the wheel
• work on bringing out contrast, to highlight wheel and pop it out from the background
• Bring out the fencing, adding more definition to the composition

Here's how my entry turned out - with an added texture:

And just for fun -

 Here's before the texture, clean and clear - which shows off a water ripple above the wheel.

(Did a fish just jump? Or, Kaylene, did you throw a pebble?)

Basic Idea of Steps:

 Reversed photo

Cloned out unwanted branches/reflections

Used dodge tool a little at a time to lighten bottom of photo

Curves Adjustment and Brightness/Contrast to adjust lightness

Vibrance/Saturation Adjustment

Spent time sponging, dodging, burning the wheel, foreground branches, fencing, and ripple.

Worked on burning tree water reflection

Contrast Adjustment - to lower background contrast (to pop out focal point in foreground)

Burned all shadows for more contrast

Added a texture for artsy fun, masking off foreground as needed

Added a blur to frost top and bottom of photo 

Australia is a far-off wish to visit.  It seems so beautifully rugged... and I love the kangaroo.