Another Cactus NIght

[Cindy Cone]

Here's another version of the blooms from the night-blooming cereus. I cloned out distracting elements in the
background, (grass, another bush), then burned and/or painted the rest of the background black. I worked on this a month or two so
ago and didn't write down the exact work flow, but I know I used Topaz Adjust and Topaz Clarity. This is more typical
of the images from my cactus series, rather than my "chiaroscuro" lighting attempt.

Thanks for looking. All C&C welcome!

[Kerry Perkins]

I like this one a lot Cindy! The effect of the light coming from inside the blooms is amazing. Love the colors, clean black background, and sharpness without artifact. Very nice image!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Cindy, the lighting is gorgeous. I love the sharpness of the blooms and they seem to glow. It looks like you started with a really nice base image:S3:

[Nancy Bell]

Very nicely done. I really like how the eye is drawn up the green parts and on to the beautiful fine details of the top flower. Having the spines catch the light also adds to the drama and flow of the image. The lighting and the glow are just right!

[Cindy Cone]

Thanks so much for your comments, Kerry, Cheryl and Nancy. Appreciate it!

[Diane Miller]

Just found this one -- striking! I love the sharpness, composition and lighting. Can't wait to get home and catch up to recent posts on a real monitor.

[Christopher Miller]

Very nice image, Cindy. Love the colors and sharpness. I think it might also look good cropped to a vertical.

[Cindy Cone]

Thanks so much, Diane and Christopher. Thanks for the vertical crop suggestion, Christopher, I hadn't thought of that.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Love the glow in the center of the flowers and the sharpness, You have really great DOF, what lens were you using Cindy? I think a crop to square would look pretty nice too.

[Cindy Cone]

Thanks, Jackie. I like the idea of a square crop. I was using the Canon EF 17-40mm lens.