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View Full Version : Moon flower with light painting in the rain



Randy Stout
07-29-2009, 10:46 AM
I was just heading off to bed, and looked out the back door, and noticed a nice moon flower blossom, all beaded with water from the rain. So, at 11pm I drug out the gear and took a couple of shots.

D700 Sigma 180 at f/18 1/20s Gitzo handheld flashlight

Post: NX2 USM

Comments always appreciated. Moon flowers have to be one of the most elegant of flowers.

Fabs Forns
07-29-2009, 10:50 AM
Nice whites and the rain drops add to the feel. Only wish the drops were sharper.

Richard Lovison
07-29-2009, 03:04 PM
Randy,

I like the composition and the delicate nature of the subject. The whites seem well exposed. I love the translucent, glowing quality of the back of the flower leading to the green stem.

I only have a small problem with the lighter than background glow around the entire flower. Is this due to using the flashlight for additional light or is this another flower behind the first?

Randy Stout
07-29-2009, 03:16 PM
Richard:

thanks for the comments. There were a few leaves in the background. They were quite faint, because the flashlight I was using is very directional, not much light spill, but I wanted to completely eliminate them.

I did a negative selection around the flower and then darkened the background. There is just a trace of less dark area near the flower, which I didn't notice when I posted. I was working at the office, and the room isn't quite dark enough.

Thanks for picking this up. I will do a little more tweaking.

Cheers

Randy

Richard Lovison
07-29-2009, 03:36 PM
Randy,

I love my new monitor. :) I just checked in photoshop... the majority of your background is at zero though the RGB values in the glow average around 3 or 4 and go as high as 23. I can actually see the difference between 0 and 1. Eegads! :) And the glow extends up to 1 1/2 inches on the left (1680x1050 resolution).
Just for reference, my monitor is calibrated with a luminance of 140cd/m^2. I bet the majority of the glow wouldn't show in a print.

david cramer
07-29-2009, 04:33 PM
Nice work with light painting, which can be loads of fun. I like the glow and texture in the white. Would suggest minor burning of the stamens to set them off better.

Alfred Forns
07-29-2009, 06:21 PM
Agree with comments but its one fine image Love the use of light and feel of whites Big Congrats !!!

Julie Kenward
07-29-2009, 06:23 PM
Well I must be odd (wo)man out but the whites aren't doing it for me. Could be my monitor but they feel too white - like I can't quite see the detail I wish was there. I love the stem and the edges of the bloom but the middle is leaving me flat. Not sure why...