@marthadimeoOde to Summer
Happy First Day of Summer, June 20, 2025. To usher in summer 2025 I gave myself a creative challenge: with one photo, tell the story of summer.
For me, summer is all about spending time at the beach. This image is a self-portrait of sorts. In fact, pictured are my beach chair and flip-flops. Moments before I took the photo, I was sitting in the chair with my feet in the sand and enjoying the sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore. This scene encapsulates my ideal summer day—a quiet beach, the warmth of the sun, and the tranquil joy of being by the ocean.
The Retouching Roadmap
As the retouching markup indicates, the edits are subtle but significant: remove the distracting elements, shape the light, enhance the color variation.
A retouching markup serves as a guide, outlining the direction for the retouching process.
Before & After
Carefully considered adjustments to the tone, color, and contrast creates the mood and emotional effect of the image. Enhancing the warm glow of the late-afternoon sun, the long cast-shadows, the granularity of the sand, and the movement of the water all contribute to evoking the mood. Can you envision relaxing in the beach chair? Does the image evoke the melodic rhythm of the gentle current? Can you imagine the feel of the sand between your toes?
An Invitation to Summer
Where is your happy place to spend a summer afternoon? May you spend many days there relishing the joys of this glorious season.
Postscript
A Peek Behind The Curtain
“How did you do it? Was it a few quick edits in Photoshop?” A friend asked me when I shared this image with her. Here’s a peek behind the curtain: it was anything but quick! Achieving the final result involved twenty layers and meticulous attention to detail.
