perennial favourite

[John Chardine]

The is the Central American species orchid Cattlya aurantiaca. My wife Jean has had this plant for the past 30 years and it flowers like clockwork at this time of year. It's a good, reliable friend! The flowers are not showy and are quite small- about 2 cm across. I am happy with the colour rendition here which is spot-on. The flowers were lit with sunlight filtered through a white umbrella.

I cropped and burned the black BG to remove any small highlights. Cropped a little and sharpened as usual.

Date: 5 May, 2013, Time: 1524h
Camera: SIGMA DP2 Merrill, Foveon sensor
Lens: 30mm
Program: Aperture Priority
ISO 100, 1/15s, f/5.6
Exp. comp.: -0.7

[Diane Miller]

Very nice, but my attention is drawn to the green stems more than I want. Selective Color or Hue / Sat on the Greens might tone them down a bit.

[Norm Dulak]

I agree in all respects with Diane but like the low key approach. You might also consider removing the white tips on some of the petals.

[John Chardine]

Thanks for the comments.

[Jonathan Ashton]

A really strong image, the detail in the petals is excellent, it appears a tad over saturated to me at first, but I take note that you have already considered that point and you are happy.
The first thing that struck me was the green stems they look a little to green for me and I would selectively desaturate them, black backgrounds works sometimes and sometimes not but I think this one does, it creates a very strong contrast emphasising the flowers.

Now I have written this I note that similar comments have been written previously.... oh well repetitive but consistent!

[Anita Bower]

Lovely composition and group of flowers. The orange against the black bg is stunning. I love saturated colors. I do think, though, that these might benefit from just a tad of desaturation of the oranges. When I look at levels, I see that they are a bit blown out--but just a tad. I agree about toning down the greens a bit. The bg looks like it may not be evenly black, or the effect may be due to compression for posting. The lighting is lovely and even. The grouping is very pleasing. I like the white tips. Nice job.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi John. A very dramatic image, nicely lit, well composed, and with excellent overall sharpness! The black background works well here. I would agree with toning down the greens a bit - a minor tweak to a very strong image.

[John Chardine]

Sorry, have not been back to the thread. Thanks all for the great comments.