Dusty Miller

[Julie Kenward]

Normally a variety of silver-green foliage, I converted this image of dusty miller to B&W to give it some contrast and "pop."

Canon 40D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
ISO 200, f5 @ 1/60
Handheld, early evening sun
AWB, Eval Meter
Camera Raw post-processing (slight crop, curves and levels, desaturated)

[John Cooper]

Your treatment here certainly shows up the texture in the leaves Julie - great to see you experimenting!!

[Alfred Forns]

Good subject for the treatment Julie !!! Has lots of 3D effect !!! Might have been interesting stopping down as much as possible for dof !!! I like it !!!

[Robert O'Toole]

Interesing patterns and textures and a nice comp.

Would have been great to use a diffuser or have a friend stand to block the sun a little. This would have eliminated the harsh highlights.

Robert

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Excellent composition, very original. Love the B&W on this one.
congrats,

[Mike Moats]

Hey Julie, I like your subject and idea for the tight crop. I agree on more DOF to bring it all in focus.

[Julie Kenward]

Thanks, everyone. I really like how this ended up although i can see where the DOF could have been stronger. As for the harsh lighting...well, call me crazy, but I love it. That harsh, uneven lighting is what drew me to notice the plant in the first place. In fact, I amped the contrast up a bit in post production. I'm going to invest in a reflector to see how it would change images like this but that play of light...that's what drew me to photography in the first place. I love to watch it bounce and dart and rise and fall within an image.