Mark S. Johnson Photography

On our best days of photographing, we manage to capture an image that is so compelling that the viewer simply can’t look away. Kevin Bedford from North Yorkshire in the UK made just such a photograph at the Venetian Carnival in Remiremont, France. He froze this moment using a Lensbaby. The blurred corners, the intriguing subject matter, and the play of complementary blue and yellow colors draw the viewer’s eye into the photograph.

On a recent workshop in Zion National Park, Kevin submitted this image for a live Photoshop edit. During the session, we agreed that the image could be even more powerful if we created a second hand in the lower right corner, removed the distracting horizontal line running behind the subject’s head, sharpened the subject’s face, and added a vignette to the upper corners. I’d like to recreate that session in this Workbench. Let’s get started…