From Real to Surreal

Part 2 - The River Bend

The rivers bifurcated the landscape with their mesmerising winding paths, carving delicate lines through the vast Kimberley terrain. By April the dry season had already begun, and many of the waterways were shrinking, leaving behind intricate channels and exposed earth patterns across the landscape.

What fascinated me most was their sense of flow and movement from the air. I wanted to capture those sweeping organic forms while also bringing out the subtle blues, pinks and rich earth tones hidden within the land.

Below is the progression of my editing process as these aerial photographs gradually transformed from documentary landscapes into abstract interpretations of the Kimberley.

Look at the dull original raw file with the wing and wing strut of the plane across the side.

I cropped the image, focusing on the lovely shape of the river and did some basic edits in lightroom.

It was the auto-curves action in photoshop that made the image pop.

Now I just had fun seeing where I could take the image. I wanted to chase the pinks and blues, and lift the moody olive tones.

More pink please.

Once I was happy I played around with different crops.

My personal favourite is this image. I love the strong pinks and blues, and the way the trees have become stylised into small textured dots across the landscape. To me they feel organic and grounding, adding rhythm and life to the abstraction.

It is probably not an image I would hang on my own wall, yet I still find myself very drawn to it. There is something about the colour, texture and flow that I find deeply appealing.