Paphiopedilum philippinense

[John Lowin]

This Paphiopedilum philippinense is a species orchid from my collection. The image was created by window light on the breakfast room table, no flash. The petals have uniform tight twisting, and the sepals have strong distinct striping, both are desired characteristics for the species. Hope you like my image. C and C welcome, I'm here to learn. - John

f/16 1/4s ISO 640
Canon 1D MkII
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Gitzo CF 1228 tripod
Arca Swiss B1 Ball Head

[Mike Moats]

Hey John, what a great flow in this comp. Nice details and the nice soft color in the BG. Wll done.

[Julie Kenward]

John, love the orchid...you take incredible photos of these plants and I feel so priveledged to get to view them.

That said...again...another problem with the BG. Can you see all the artifacts or noise or something (gosh, I wish I could figure it out) that is in the BG? I pulled the image down and opened up levels and moved the mid and dark tones all the way to the left and then scooted the whites over that direction as well and finally all the BG "stuff" went away.

I don't know if it's from the jpeg conversion or the way you're processing the images but there is more artifacts in your BG than most and I'm not sure why. All I know is when you go to a white BG they all but disappear. Maybe someone more experienced can tell us what's going on?

It's not that I like this BG better than yours - just presenting it so you can see the difference between it and the artifacts that are showing up in yours - especially the top left side of the frame.

[John Lowin]

John, love the orchid...you take incredible photos of these plants and I feel so priveledged to get to view them.

That said...again...another problem with the BG. Can you see all the artifacts or noise or something (gosh, I wish I could figure it out) that is in the BG? I pulled the image down and opened up levels and moved the mid and dark tones all the way to the left and then scooted the whites over that direction as well and finally all the BG "stuff" went away.

I don't know if it's from the jpeg conversion or the way you're processing the images but there is more artifacts in your BG than most and I'm not sure why. All I know is when you go to a white BG they all but disappear. Maybe someone more experienced can tell us what's going on?

It's not that I like this BG better than yours - just presenting it so you can see the difference between it and the artifacts that are showing up in yours - especially the top left side of the frame.

Hi Julie, Thanks for your comments. I'm curious, how high are you magnifying the images to see artifacts? I am running two passes of noise reduction, both Topaz Denoise as well as Imaginomic Noiseware.

My guess is that it may be a function of my camera body. It's a 1D MkII and is known to create noisier images than the newer Canon bodies. Other than that I need some expert insight. Thanks again. - John

[Charles Wesley]

John,

What a lovely lady slipper. I like your composition on this photo. I'm very much into orchids also. It would be easy to spend the same amounts of money on both photography and orchids.

Keep the orchid photos coming...
_______________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Julie Kenward]

John, I can see them with my bare eye in the posted photo...can you not? Here's a piece of your image at 200%. This was the area I noticed first and that led me to look at the entire BG.

[John Lowin]

John, I can see them with my bare eye in the posted photo...can you not? Here's a piece of your image at 200%. This was the area I noticed first and that led me to look at the entire BG.

Do you like this better? - John

[Julie Kenward]

Yes! What did you do? It made a ton of difference.

[John Lowin]

Julie, Thanks. Two passes of noise reduction. One pass of Imagenomic Noiseware Pro followed by a pass of Topaz Denoise. - John


Yes! What did you do? It made a ton of difference.

[Anita Bower]

This is a glorious flower and I like the angle you chose for this photo. The curves and crossing lines are beautiful. Great composition.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
that is some orhcid! Love the twisting parts. Like both the re-post and Julie's high key.....both work! I am debating the greenery.....especially on the LR.....but the more I look at it the more I am OK with it.

[John Lowin]

Thanks to everyone for their valued comments and suggestions. - John