Visited my old standby, the cemetery, today to see if there was any action at the duck pond. There were no ducks to speak of but quite a few big geese waddling around everywhere. Enough geese where I had to watch where I was walking 😉 . I decided to explore around the pond anyhow and look for some other subjects. I shot a few flowers and just missed shooting a small egret that flew away as soon as I saw it. It wasn’t until I walked around to the other side that I saw the trees, backlit from the evening sun, reflecting into the water. I took a few different angles but I liked this one of the lone tree the best. Obviously I was going for a painterly effect so after I flipped the photo and cloned out a few small distracting sticks floating in the water, I added a Topaz Adjust layer to minimize detail and reduced opacity to around 60%. I the added a Nik Silver Efex B&W layer to finesse the contrast, reduce saturation and add vignette with an opacity of about 45% (I really need to write this stuff down sometime). That’s it! Pentax K20D, DA 55-300.
Tree at Pond
© David Guidas
What I Pic 
Looking for a painterly effect? You found it!
This image is grand! I like the Nik Silver Efex layer used to desaturate. Never thought of that (I just go full steam to B&W!).
Thanks John. I kind of make up my own rules as far as processing. There are probably easier methods (Nik Color Efex?) but I like the results I get.
Beautiful!
Thanks Nathan.