In this one I tried to make my own bokeh. The four spots on the red blood patch are actually adjustment brush points set to reduce saturation to 20% and increase exposure, with a very tiny amount of feathering. I tried to keep the size similar to the actual bokeh but they look a bit too small. The SNEAKY trick here is a radial filter on the light shaft in the centre of the frame to make it a little more pronounced and draw viewers’ focus more subtly than a standard vignette.
Tried to use what the shot offered here. The column of bokeh in the background looked like a column of smoke to me so I worked around that. To me it looks like a huge ash pile on top of which is a bonfire that the guy in the background is huddling close to, but is going to have a rather bad day (here’s you thinking you could view this subjectively).
Before and after shot of what I’ve been working on recently. No actual Photoshop was used – just adjustment brush layers in LR. I tried to be thorough with reflections like the edges of the tunnel and elbows/knee of the soldier.
The “tunnel” is really the hollow part of the bottom of a wall-topper, where the cement binds. Said cement is the crumbled debris around the tunnel along with some “burning” moss.
Another one of those 2am projects. Interpret as you will.
Shutter Presser 