It’s amazing how much a day makes a difference. Even when we try to repeat the same thing, each day and each moment are different. It never comes out the same. As a photographer, I am constantly reminded of this. The camera captures the differences in light and shadow, in my point of view. Our brains adjust and accommodate and affect our perception, but the camera tells it true.
The second morning of the NW Art & Air Festival was completely different than the first. Where there were clear skies, no wind and sunshine on Saturday, Sunday’s launch was in cloudy skies and slight wind. No morning sun on the balloons, no mass launch. One at a time the balloons filled and drifted off quickly into the cloudy sky. It wasn’t as much fun to photograph and yet…
…here is this image. My heart leapt when I first saw it. I knew some dreamy editing would be perfect. I am so happy with it I find that I can’t edit any more photos this morning. I am done. Satisfied. The words “Let Your Dreams Soar” came to me as I edited it, so that’s the title.
Thank goodness I went back the second day. Thank goodness it was different than the first. The morning that seemed imperfect turned out the best image of all. The camera told it true.
Since I love how this image turned out I created a Lightroom preset called Let Your Dreams Soar and I find I can’t wait for the next newsletter to share it with you! You can download it here. This preset will work in Lightroom 3 or 4. I thought you might like to see the original image for comparison. Quite a bit different, huh?
August 30, 2012 9:21 am
Oh, Kat – a simply perfect example of why post-processing, for me, plays such an important role in creating our art. I love the POV of the original image but your processing kicks this image to another level of beauty.
August 30, 2012 8:28 pm
I’m with you Brenda! More and more I view my images as “raw material” for later processing. Lightroom has shifted things for me! I love it!
August 30, 2012 11:45 am
Wonderful images and processing, Kat! Though all the images are lovely. I love the POV looking up.
August 30, 2012 8:28 pm
Thanks Sandra! My husband thought I was going to fall over backwards because I kept shooting as they went overhead.
August 30, 2012 12:02 pm
A wonderful image and thank you once again for the preset, I love to use them.
August 30, 2012 12:07 pm
Absolutely wonderful!
August 30, 2012 6:20 pm
Stunningly light and airy!
I’ve downloaded the preset, but it is a text file. It won’t install like my other presets. How should I install it?
August 30, 2012 8:27 pm
Weird! It should be a *.lrtemplate file. Can you try downloading it again and let me know? It should just import into Lightroom.
August 31, 2012 5:05 pm
Kat… I too tried downloading the file. Same result as Cheryl. Do you have to have Lightroom installed on the computer where you download?
That POV is stunning… as are your edits.
August 31, 2012 7:18 pm
Hi Christine! Cheryl and I figured out the problem offline. If your computer doesn’t recognize the file type when downloading, it will sometimes add “.txt” at the end. Edit the filename to remove the “.txt” at the end and it load into Lightroom fine after that. Cheryl tried it and it worked!
September 10, 2012 4:23 pm
I love it when that happens. The hardest part is not to give in to the thoughts…you know the ones…the light sucks, there are too many people here, there are not enough people here, nothing is really happening. Thank you for sharing this!