How Much Wood Wood a Wood Chopper Chop?
Last autumn I was out for a walk on Wimbledon Common, I had the camera but things were not flowing. Still it was a nice day for a walk so I decided not to worry too much. Then as I was nearing the car I happened upon this would pile and an idea formed, I cropped in with a view to shooting an abstract and fired a couple of frames.
I never got around to processing the shots, when I looked at them in post I was not feeling that enthusiastic about the shots.
Last week two things happened; I downloaded the beta of Adobe Photoshop CS6 and Chris Lane set a challenge to a group of togs including me.
The latter made me realise I needed to brush up my Photoshop technique as it is usually limited to minor adjustments. My first run through post produced a pleasing image, however I wanted to make it more special. I applied the new Oil Paint filter in CS6 and tweaked the settings until I got a result I liked, I then added Tilt Shift Blur from the new blur gallery and again adjusted the strength and position of blur.
A Brief Moment in Time 
Very cool editing job.
thanks Dan
great texture
thanks eddy
Love the abstract look of the wood!
thank you karen, I wanted abstract, quite happy with the outcome
That’s a very cool shot Chris. Love the processing with the PS6 new tools. Great result.
Thanks Len, I’m really impressed with the new tools as well, but find that CS6 is a more intuitive workflow as well.
As I said in the post, I don’t do a lot of post production but I think I may be doing more soon. Check this image on 500px http://500px.com/photo/6836534 for a idea of the straight shot.
Nice shallow DOF! Good job making the mundane look beautiful!
Thanks Adam, appreciate the comment
looks very cool Chris, great processing here!
Thanks Jim, appreciate the comment. I had a lot of fun with this image and tried a few new things. Really rather pleased with the outcome
I really love what you’ve done with it in post Chris. It’s got a beautiful artisitic abstract quality about it.
thanks Edith that’s really kind
I really really love this one Chris, there’s something absolutely special about it. Great colors and tones in the wood, and I REALLY love the tilt-shift effect you’ve applied here; wonderfully done, my friend!!
Thanks Toad, appreciate the time to hop over to my side of the pond for a look. Glad you liked it
I like the rich colours in this and the filter produces an excellent painterly effect – at first glance this looks superior to Dry Brush or Watercolour filters.
Thanks Andy, there is a lot of control on the “Oil Paint” filter in CS6, split into 2 parts; Brush (stylization, cleanliness, scale & bristle detail) & Lighting (direction & shine), easy to use and preview of results. So it’s easy to get a good result to fit the subject
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I really love this. The texture in the wood almost looks like water.
thanks Scott. I wanted to give it a more fluid look and used the new Oil Painting tool in CS6 beta.