Pink Gazania

[Andre van As]

This flower was grown in our garden in Florida last winter.

Hasselblad 50c, 120mm macro lens, f5.6, 1/30 ss, 54 stacks, macro focusing controlled tethered to a MacBook Pro, using Hasselblad Phocus for remote exposures and focus control. Processed with Zerene and PS CC to achieve contrast and tonal balance.


149728

Look forward to your comments etc

Regards

Andre

[Ron Conlon]

A gorgeous bloom with a nice array of colors and textures--a new flower for me. I bet the internet doesn't do this justice, a large print would have so much greater impact. Given that, for the internet, I might take the brightness down just a tad with a curve. For a print, that is probably not necessary.
With such technical acheivement I wonder if a little bit of imperfection in the flower itself might give it a little warmth. The principle of wabi-sabi....

[Anita Bower]

I would love to see a print of this. Excellent work. Gorgeous flower. Outstanding details. Unusual colors. Perfect on black bg. To print, you might have to tone it down just a tad. Outstanding work!

[Andre van As]

Thanks for the comment Ron. You are correct - this image was downloaded from a print master that had been adjusted to give the correct tonal quality for a good print. This is based on the premise that an image on the screen is always lighter than it should be due to the backlighting. Therefore the print is always subconsciously adjusted to be too dark. By making the image purposely light and then applying a gradient and printing this gradient one can select the "slice" that would be the correct tonal quality for the print. By making this selection on the print one removes the effect of the monitor that is too bright in the way it reflects brightness - despite weekly calibration. This slice is then applied to the whole image and one is assured of a perfect print each time once the tonal range has been set correctly. This is probably not the best way to show images on the net. The print is however balanced correctly.

Your comment about the aesthetics of imperfection is something I struggle with every day while working on images of very beautiful flowers. I suppose we live in a culture where beauty and perfection are revered and striven for so the reflex is to remove all blemishes because we have the power to do so. In some of my images I have left torn petals and deformities, although the scarred edges are usually dressed up a bit. This flower however was picked on the day it bloomed and had not been subjected to the ravages of the environment to any extent, so a few little touchups were made.

Regards
Andre

[Andre van As]

Thanks Anita - Also see my comment to Ron re printing. Seems I have now learned that outputs for different media have to be handled differently.

Regards

Andre

[Jonathan Ashton]

A beautiful image Andre, I am mightily impressed with the quality. Your comments regarding brightness and backgrounds are equally pertinent to the background colour in the software used for image processing. It seems to be the in thing to use a black background but many experts still recommend the grey mid tonal ranges in order to get a true impression of an images brightness/exposure.

[Andre van As]

Thanks for the comment Jonathan. I use both black and white backgrounds depending on the colour characteristics of the flower. Some look good on black and don't show well on white and vice versa.

Regards

Andre

[Anita Bower]

Thanks Anita - Also see my comment to Ron re printing. Seems I have now learned that outputs for different media have to be handled differently.

Regards

Andre
It sounds as if you know what you need to do to make a print. I do want to comment on the idea of adding an imperfection. I prefer the perfect flower, without flaws. Any flaw will immediately draw the eye and be a distraction.

[Ron Conlon]

The tye of imperfection I have in mind could be a slight asymmetry, not a blemish. I don't have a practical suggestion for what would work well in this case, unfortunately, which wouldn't completely change the approach. Given that, I admit it isn't a very useful critique.

The composition of a radially symmetrical flower in the center of a black square is very very regular. Often we use off-center blooms, blooms at a slight angle rather than face on, less than complete depth of field, I presume because they please our eye. A symmetry breaker in this case might be a dew drop or an insect for example.

[Diane Miller]

This is just drop-dead gorgeous! There is enough asymmetry in the petals to keep me looking around the image, but it still conveys the perfection of a fresh blossom.

I'd love to see more!!

[Andre van As]

Hi Diane
Thanks for your comment. I have more floral images done with a similar treatment. I am busy creating my web site and when it is done the rest of my work that I feel comfortable showing will be available to be seen.

Regards

Andre

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Andre. I'm very late to the party here, but I would agree with all the positive comments above! This is excellent work!

[Andre van As]

Hi Steve
Welcome to the party - I appreciate your comment - Thanks very much

Regards

Andre