Whenever I’m home, I always struggle to go out and shoot. Partially because I live in flat suburbia and partially because I’ve grown up here, so nothing appeals to me anymore. But I still try to go out to try and capture something worth sharing.
I went on a small walk through Norman J Levy Park and Preserve, and all in all, the trip was a total bust. It was cloudy the whole time and the area was lined with green trees and bushes with nothing particularly interesting. It wasn’t until the last leg of the trip when a young fox strolled across my path about 50 feet ahead. Before I could get my camera out, it darted away into the foliage. Unfortunately, I didn’t pack my zoom lens to NY, so I couldn’t get as close as I liked.
Not particularly interesting, but I thought I could salvage something here. I also haven’t done an Editing Exercise in a while, so take a look at how I got it from start (1) to finish (6).
- Picture taken straight out of camera
- Cropped and sharpened
- Black and white conversion while masking out the fox
- Levels adjustment to make the leaves and tree darker
- Edited away some of the distracting flowers on the right side
- Add a subtle dark vignette to draw attention to the fox
Technically, it’s an extremely simple edit but I’m pleased with the result. Maybe I’ll do another Editing Exercise that’s a bit more complicated in the future since I’ve started delving into skin retouching. I’m still not great at it, but it’s a start.
Andy Chen Photography 