Spring Tree Color

_DSC3595_DxOpsplcepnx 72dpi(c), originally uploaded by Donnie Fulks.

For about a week every spring, just before the green leaves emerge, the local trees are full of color. Some years much more so than in the fall, which I find fascinating. I took this image yesterday morning at the local pond just as the fog was lifting.

Due to a light breeze the water was rippled and the trees were moving so I resorted to dialing up the Vari-n-duo neutral density filter to attain a several second exposure to smooth the reflection in the water out a bit. The exposure was very flat due to the fog, so I went Topaz Adjust for correction. For the fluttery tree parts I painted in a low opacity of Snap Art Impasto, a tip I picked up from John Barclay. A few NIK filters through in along the way. Unfortunately, I have an older 70-200 f2.8 Sigma that is a bit soft and the Blue Heron was not as sharp as hoped for- maybe he moved a bit during the long exposure. So I finished off with a bit of diffusion from Red Giant Photo Looks to compensate for the softness. Lot of moves in the "darkroom", but it was a fun exercise.