Old Elm Log Revisited

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 2, 2015160 views16 comments

This is a frost-free image of the same region of the old, weather checked elm log that I took the other day. Following Preston's advice, I placed the log in the shower and soaked it for about 10 seconds. The light was diffuse due to the cloudy morning light and I set the WB to cloudy and the warm colors of the wood came out nicely. I did some luminosity masks on Lights, Light Lights, Expanded Midtones, Darks, and Shadow Darks with curve and opacity adjustments. Finally, I ran the image through Topaz Detail, re-sized for posting with a small amount of smart sharpening to finish it the job. Thank you all for your help with this one. Happy New Year

.................Jim

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Roel Wijtmans on January 2, 2015 at 11:20 AM

I much prefer this one, very nice texture!

Registered on September 30, 2012, 116 Posts, 2257 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 2, 2015 at 12:07 PM

Really good processing. I have followed similar processing steps and found the extra trouble worthwhile. I have one question—how did you know it was elm?

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on January 2, 2015 at 12:34 PM

Thank you for the comments. Our wood pile consists of black cherry, ash, red oak, elm and some silver maple. Elm does not split well compared to maple, oak, and ash. Cherry is very red orange when dry with lenticels present on the bark. This particular piece did not split clean from the main log and is very likely one of the elm species..................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Zelinka on January 2, 2015 at 2:42 PM

Nice little wood abstract. It does seem lacking in sharpness to me.

Registered on August 20, 2007, 206 Posts, 998 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on January 2, 2015 at 4:30 PM

Interesting lines and textures. I think this makes a nice abstract. My eyes keep wandering around the frame - kind of reminds me of a maze.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on January 2, 2015 at 4:59 PM

Nice wood abstract.I like th lines and texture

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on January 2, 2015 at 5:40 PM

Jim, This has some very nice patterns and textures. Almost has kind of a velvet look about it. Pretty neat!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on January 2, 2015 at 6:05 PM

It does sound like this was a lot of work! I like the end result, I think that the complete lack of scale makes the image especially appealing!

Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on January 2, 2015 at 6:06 PM

I like the patterns and the colour you've brought out. I think it needs some more sharpening.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on January 2, 2015 at 6:49 PM

It does look like a maze, of sorts. I prefer this one to the frosted version. You were able to hold the detail quite well, the contrast looks fine, as does the color.

I do agree with Mark regarding the lack of sharpness, but given the amount of detail, this could be due to compression.

Did you try TK's Web Sharpening action? I find it works very well. If you're not familiar with it, shoot me an e-mail.

--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by D.A. Edwards on January 2, 2015 at 6:51 PM

I much prefer this to the early version, Jim. I like the comp but it does seem that the sharpness has suffered this time around for some reason though.

Registered on October 8, 2014, 226 Posts, 1187 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on January 3, 2015 at 9:40 AM

I tried TK's sharpening methods on the Dark luminosity masks to tighten up the image sharpness. The cracks have a beveled edge and are stained from the actions of a wood fungus. The dark color actually bleeds out into the surrounding wood which makes the cracks appear to have a soft edge. The technique used for sharpening worked to a certain extent. Thank you Preston......................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on January 3, 2015 at 10:25 AM

This one is a big improvement. Nice warm colors, great texture and just enough of the cracks and dents to keep it interesting. Well done

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Dark on January 3, 2015 at 10:53 AM

I think this is beautiful, Jim. The rich warm tones are especially appealing this time of year when the weather is gray and cold - at least where I am. Your extra effort was worth it.

Registered on May 27, 2005, 148 Posts, 1121 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on January 3, 2015 at 3:04 PM

This one worked out rather nicely, Jim. Lots of details and textures to wander around and enjoy. I also like the warm earth tones. My only suggestion would be a bit more sharpness as it does look a little soft. Happy New Year to you as well.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Ryan Shain on January 4, 2015 at 4:05 PM

I love the study of lines, texture, and warm tones in this Elm tree Jim, and the work you have put into capturing this image is looking better and better with each capture. I think the repost is very nice, and the first thing I thought of was a maze when I opened this one up. I like this capture, and it has me exploring around all the fine little cracks and crevices.

Registered on February 20, 2007, 226 Posts, 4571 Comments