Mum Blur

[Barry Ekstrand]

134939

First post to OOTB, trying some flower blurs. All comments appreciated!

Canon 5D Mark III, 24-105 f4L
ISO 100, 105mm, f6.3, 0.4 sec
PP in Lightroom

Barry

[Nancy Bell]

Barry, welcome to OOTB! Your first post is brilliant! Love the concept, execution and the fabulous colors. I really like how the red from the center flower radiates outward to incorporate the blossoms further back, and that those blossoms are blurred more than the center one, allowing the center to take "center stage".

[Dennis Bishop]

Very nicely done. The original shot, the colors, the placement and amount of zoom all work very well together.

I hope we get to see more of your work here.

[Diane Miller]

What they said -- wonderful! Not easy to do a pleasing zoom blur and this one is fantastic, as I see it!

Tonalities are just great -- hope to see more of you here!

[Barry Ekstrand]

Nancy, Dennis, and Diane,

Many thanks for the encouraging feedback. I really like what Denise Ippolito and Artie Morris have shown (there is a great B&H sponsored video in case anyone hasn't seen it). I bought their Pleasing Blurs ebook and then was inspired to try a few. They are fun to try to do but also frustrating as well since most don't end up as planned! I will continue to learn and try, thanks again for the encouragement.

Barry

[Anita Bower]

I'm not a big fan of blurs, but this one works very well. The colors are marvelous--that yellow and red zooming out! The center, with less blur, holds it together. Although I like it as is, another idea is to crop left and bottom to put the center of the flower in the rule of thirds position. Not better, just different. Looking forward to more of your work.

[Judy Howle]

Outstanding blur, one of the best I've seen! Beautiful subjects, and I love the way the blur fades to the outer edges with the main flower sharper.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Barry, and welcome to OOTB! What a great image to start with, technically and artistically top-notch. I love the warm colors and soft focus. You did a really nice job with the blur. Well done!

[Mitch Carucci]

Exciting flower image. Works for me.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Barry, welcome to OOTB! As noted above this is a really super image. Zoom blurs aren't easy to master and it looks like you've already mastered them. The colors are wonderful as well. I love blurs and this is truly a nice one. The trick is being willing to do many and accept the fact that a lot of them will end up in the trash.
I hope we see more of your images.:S3: