When you’re about to shave 1.5 years of beard growth off, why not dress up as Paul Bunyan and Photoshop yourself into the woods?

I had to do this. It was a requirement of my existence.

I started out by searching for images that I could place myself into. I grabbed a bunch from crazy people who give incredible work away for free at Unsplash. Then narrowed it down to these three:

From there I had to find Paul Bunyan-y things for the shoot:

• Beard? Check.
• Lumberjack Flannel from my father-in-law.
• Suspenders custom made to match via the wifey.
• Stocking hat compliments Amazon Prime
• Ax from friends that actually use it (had to be real and wooden).

Then I had to find my babe… And here she is:

Once I had all of the images, wardrobe, and props it was time to shooooot. I suckered my buddy Keith and our roommate, Ashley, into helping. The key was to shoot at the same angle that “Jared Bunyan” would be standing, or sitting, in the Photoshopped image.

Image 1 – A Tall Walk in the Woods

Without a doubt, this one was the most difficult. I spent hours cutting out those stupid branches to place myself behind them. Here’s a quick look at the different phases of the edit.

Hey, it’s me walking:

I wish I had recorded a timelapse of me working on this. Alas, all I have is this GIF that comically completes it in a few seconds.

I added some color and tonal adjustments after that. Here’s the final version:

Image 2 – Taking Babe for a Drink

I had to add three things to this image to make it work and really pop: more headroom in the sky, a reflection of Babe and I in the water, and a lens flare to the right.

Hey, it’s me looking to the future:

Getting GIFY with it:

And the final version:

Image 3 – Bunyan Cakes

I’m least satisfied with this image. We attempted to make so I’m sitting on the house but I’m not sure it’s totally believable. It was hard to get the angle and posture totally right. I also had the most trouble blending myself with the initial image on this one too. Oh well, at least the pancakes were delish.

Hey, it’s me enjoying life:

One final GIF party for you kids:

And the final version of the final image:

Welp, that’s a wrap. Love to hear any comments or feedback. These are fun but I’m always trying to improve. Or any suggestions for a new series? 🙂