Magical Clouds in the Pastel Sky

Spotted some of the most awe-inspiring clouds while in the air and had to capture this aerial view right away. 

I decided to manipulate it a bit, adding in some extra sun flare, lightening up the image, and also incorporating a mix of pastel hues to the sky in the background. 

Magical Descent: Turquoise and Purple Hues on the Bridge

This small bridge really added to the tranquil atmosphere of the Japanese garden. I loved how the late afternoon sun started casting all of these shadows across the walkway and I knew I had to capture this view. I decided to make it even more dramatic and added in some contrasting hues effect. This created a scene that was even more magical and enchanting. The pastel aqua, turquoise and purple colors started coming to life. 

Magnetic Winter Scene: Enchanting Walkway Imagery

After taking a bunch of photos, we always focus on finding ways to make the pictures more vibrant, which often means enhancing the saturation and contrast. 

For this photo of trees on a walkway, I wanted to give it a winter snow effect and do the opposite. The original pic was actually of green trees. Surprisingly, after lowering the saturation and giving it an almost black and white look (with hints of blue tones), the details of the trees actually end up popping out more. If anything, it's even more colorful now since the textures and hues actually stand out more than before. 

Into the Unknown: Magical Lights in the Forest

This is inspired by all of the animated movies with dynamic imagery and dark, mystical landscapes with hints of optimism and light.

I wanted this to be dramatic with an explosive amount of lights coming from all directions, with a mysterious vibe in the air. I took a normal photo of a park and began experimenting with the color effects (saturation, hues, contrast, darkening filters) to create a moody vibe. I then added various colored circles + triangles and made tweaks around it to create different shapes across the entire image with a mix of blur effects and distortion.

The Abstract Life: Ethereal, Pastel Stairway Imagery

It was a normal staircase when we walked by, but the way the sun was shining inside the museum gave it a unique look and feel. The shadows were all in the right place. Right then and there, I was inspired to brighten up the image with a couple effects.

First, I added a couple sun flare effects to give it that magical, exquisite look. I lightened the image, blurred then sharpened the staircases and windows, changed up a couple of the hues and then lowered the saturation so it offered a smooth, pastel vibe. Then, I cloned the staircase image, flipped it, and made it symmetrical on the right side. To make it even more of an abstract piece, I cloned various parts of the staircase and windows and smoothed it all over the picture.

Within the Magic Kingdom: Lighted Plants Come Alive

Conservatory of Flowers Night Bloom Part II: Loved this room the most with the wide-ranging colors from all over the spectrum with distinctive plants from all across the world. Random bouts of lights can be found within the darkness, creating such inquisitive beauty.

Glimmering Green-Blue Sparkles and Enchanted Tree Imagery

Conservatory of Flowers Night Bloom Part I: Enchanting colors.

Went to Conservatory of Flower's Night Bloom event and it was spectacular seeing all of the beautiful plants in an entirely different light. Set with colorful lights all over the conservatory, rooms with wide-ranging temperatures, and calming, enchanting music playing in the background, we felt like we were in a whole new world with a new perspective on...everything.

I loved the effects in the various rooms and decided to lighten this image a little more, enhancing the glow and adding a soft mixture of pastel blue-green sparkles sprinkled throughout the backdrop for a more otherworldly, mystical feel.

The Silent Night: Mystical Garden and Bridge Imagery

For this specific piece, I wanted to use the same image as a previous fireflies creation. I wanted it to have a simple, zen-like effect but with the same type of enchanting colors and scene. To do this, I removed the fireflies, added in high contrast and saturation to deepen the green tones, and sharpened the photo to focus more on the details of the garden. I also added in a pastel gradient border to give it a sweet, slightly less serious edge.