Azalea

[Norm Dulak]

Canon PowerShot S90, hand held
ISO Equivalent 400; f/7.1, 1/400 sec
Standard CS6 adjustments were applied

Azaleas by our home are in full bloom. These blossoms were photographed with a lightly textured tan panel held behind them, to avoid distracting background elements. A leaf at the extreme LLC was cloned out to simplify the composition.

Norm

[Jonathan Ashton]

Norm I love the azalea reat colours and details, sorry but not keen on the background, it looks artificial to me.

[Norm Dulak]

Norm I love the azalea reat colours and details, sorry but not keen on the background, it looks artificial to me.

Thanks, Jon. Of course you are right about the background. I view it as a studio shot, which is probably superior to the cedar siding of the house that otherwise would have comprised the background. And I didn't want to cut the blossoms to put them into a better background. Perhaps I might have tried to blur the background, but it still would be unnaturally uniform in color.

[John Robinson]

yes I agree. The flower is spot on. Just hanging a piece of material behind is pretty easy. As you say it would be easy to cut out and paste - but where do you stop !!!???
Cheers
JR

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks, John, for commiserating with me! :cheers:

[Jonathan Ashton]

Norm here is a quick and dirty alternative - took about 2 min. (Replace colour and lens blur) with another couple of minutes I am sure the edges could be improved with Refine edge.

[Norm Dulak]

Norm here is a quick and dirty alternative - took about 2 min. (Replace colour and lens blur) with another couple of minutes I am sure the edges could be improved with Refine edge.

Outstanding, Jon. Thanks!

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Norm,
Beautiful flowers with nice colors, detail and overall composition on the diagonal. Agree with Jon about the background. His repost is an interesting alternative.

Allen

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks, Allen.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Norm. Once again, the little S90 comes through with a fine image. Pleasing light, nice comp, and good overall sharpness. Interesting discussion about the background. Jon's repost is rather impressive! Overall, this is very nicely done!

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks, Steve. And Jon has provided good insight on improving backgrounds.