Cool little effect for a cool morning

Happy Valentines Day!

This morning I drove some of my kiddos to school early for choir practice.  My wife and I exchanged some wonderful chocolate and each one of our kiddos got a heart full of skittles.  I hope they know that we love them everyday, not just on Valentines Day.  My wife and I were talking about how lucky we are to have each other.

On the way back from dropping my kiddos off, I noticed the sun had not yet risen.  I pulled off the road into an old abandoned field that at one time had been home to a miniature golf business.   The green outdoor felt had been worn off and faded and there looked as if there had been a small brush fire that had come through not too long ago.

 

Cool frost sets in - Up before the sun
The cool frost sets in right before the sun comes up

The contrast of the charred bushes covered in frost was a lucky find. I wanted to capture this Raven Chima figure that I had recently ordered from bricklink. This particular figure was quite difficult to determine a setting and I had stumbled upon the perfect place!

I took a few shot in the morning light that gave a stark perspective which was perfect for a black raven.

Exploring the charred remains in the cool of the morning
Exploring the charred remains in the cool of the morning

The cool little effect for a cool morning

After getting a few shots I liked I decided to wait a bit for the sun to come up to add a warmth to the image to see how much it changed the shot.

Up with the sun
Up with the sun

I really like the simple effect that I stumbled upon with this shot.  I wanted to show the figure in the undergrowth / raven nest and I was lucky enough to have the sun pierce through above him.  In the first few shots I took you could not see the sun rays at all.  Then I sighed heavily and my frozen breath hit the light and lit the scene for a brief second.  I then proceeded to blow and breath hot air out over my scene (I’m full of it sometimes).

It was hard to capture the warm air just right but then I nailed it!  If you look closely in the shot above you can see swirls of frozen crystals in the beams of light.  It’s kind of a cool effect that I stumbled upon and I plan on using in the future again on fridgid mornings.

~Joecow

What are some small effects you use to add that little bit extra to your images?  Share some below!

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