theme: purple haze

[Nancy Bell]

While eating breakfast outside this morning, this cluster of catmint flowers caught my attention. I experimented many ways with this image and I'm not exactly sure what I really used. I think I started with topaz simplify, underpainting and reduced the effect on the main flowers. I added a texture from photomorphis to soften the impact of the bkgd and masked the main flower spikes for a lesser effect from the texture. Used one of the new effects in topaz clean at different opacities for bkgd and main flowers. Created the frame using content aware and an effect from PS filter gallery.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

The colours are very pleasing Nancy, purple/greens I think always look great together. I also like what Topaz Clean has done to the flowers by simplifying them and bringing out the edges. I also like the dabs of purple in the BG, like it is raining flowers. Nice work.

[Kerry Perkins]

Very nice colors and treatment. I also am very fond of the background flowers and their muted echo of the foreground. Very nice application of Topaz Clean. It really has become an essential filter! It can be used in subtle ways, even in images that are not OOTB material.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hey, Nancy, I love the soft pastel shades of purple and green and the Topaz treatment. I think the small darker lines in the background are a little distracting but that might just be me. It's a lovely summer image.:S3:

[Nancy Bell]

Thanks everyone!

[Anita Bower]

I know what it's like to lose track of what one has done in processing. Sometimes we get caught up in the creativity and don't keep track, which is perfectly OK.
Beautiful colors. Unusual processing for this type of image--it works well. I like the composition, the main flowers in focus, the rest out of focus but reflecting the main ones. Nice work!
I, too, think the lines of the texture are a little distracting. You might be able to eliminate them by blurring the texture. I added some brightness (25) and contrast (10) and like the results. It makes the image pop a bit more.

[Nancy Bell]

Anita, thanks a lot for those suggestions. Will try. I just read about the creative process one photographer uses. He works on his image, puts it away for a day, and then comes back for a fresh view. I might try that as experimenting with this and that, I think you can get into overload and lose track of some of the details.

[Anita Bower]

Anita, thanks a lot for those suggestions. Will try. I just read about the creative process one photographer uses. He works on his image, puts it away for a day, and then comes back for a fresh view. I might try that as experimenting with this and that, I think you can get into overload and lose track of some of the details.
Nancy: When processing, I almost always put a photo away for a day or more and come back to it again.

[Paul Lagasi]

I think you were probably listening to the radio....Purple Haze, Blowin in the Wind...hmmmmm.

Nicely processed image, clove the color and placement of image, clean is one of my favorite filters...well done