Photo Illustration Copyright © Mike Banks Valentine

  Copyright © Mike Valentine –   Dead Tree Study – This image is edited heavily using multiple iPhone apps to reflect what I saw when looking up under those ominous branches today. It was a cloudy morning and there was no directional light. The bark was rough and almost sharp looking – sort of like it might be dangerous to touch. I shot this and then, as usual was disappointed in the original image. (see below)

I started by cropping the original in a separate app and then taking it into the Simply HDR app to edit first, where I used the Black & White HDR filter which brought out the texture in the bark dramatically more. From there it went into the BrushStroke app where I found a filter that emphasized the texture in a way that it looked more like what I saw while standing in front of the tree.

Next it went into instagram to edit in a way that I often do for tree trunk photos – backing way off the shadows so that the dark of the backlit scene brightened further to show detail in the dark areas. Then, because it is wood and I was working with black and white, I dialed up the “warmth” setting, turning it brown.

Now the image below is where it started and the image at top is what I wanted it to look like. Love working with the tough ones and had some fun here.