“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”
–Henry David Thoreau
This photograph of a narrow, leaf-covered footpath was taken near my home in Milwaukee. It is along the Milwaukee River near Riverside Park. What you see here is what I saw with my eyes AND my heart. While the leaves are changing into the golds, yellows, and reds, they are actually not quite exactly like this. There was less red and orange and a lot more green and yellow. Now it was quite lovely, however, it wasn’t quite what I set out to capture. (See the before image below.)
So that is where the post-processing comes in. The way the bright path contrasted against the darker trees and foliage was striking. And that is what first caught my eye. At the time, I knew I would probably change the colors of the leaves to more of a rich autumn palette, helping the white narrow path really pop. A slight vignette brought the focal point of the image inward. And finally, I adjusted the contrast to darken overall and to highlight the bright yellow leaves.
In the end, I created something I saw and felt with my eyes, heart, and mind. And for me, that is the ultimate goal. To put a little (or big) piece of me in every image I create.
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The Narrow Path. Near Riverside Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. October 18, 2016
Here is the before image. This is a 5-shot 32-bit HDR image with minimal Lightroom adjustments.
