Calendula on Black

[Anita Bower]

I'm still using flowers from my garden, though a hard frost is forecast for Thursday night. I can't remember having flowers this late in the year, and am enjoying them to the max. :D

Taken indoors with natural window light, cloudy, reflector; black foamboard for BG.
Nikon D300. Sigma 105mm macro, ISO100, f40 (effective), 15 sec. PP: RAW conversion in Elements 7, pp PS7-levels and curves, brought out detail in center with Topaz Adjust.

[Dave Leroy]

Lovely looking flower Anita. I like all the detail through out the photo, all the different shades of colour in the petals and centre of flower. It feels a bit tight on top for me. I also like the black bg in combination with green stem and oranges and yellows of flower. Good for you. Dave

[Anita Bower]

Lovely looking flower Anita. I like all the detail through out the photo, all the different shades of colour in the petals and centre of flower. It feels a bit tight on top for me. I also like the black bg in combination with green stem and oranges and yellows of flower. Good for you. Dave
Thanks. I see what you mean about the top. I can easily add more space up there.:D

[Dave Mills]

Hi Anita, The lighting is beautiful along with an attractive flower. Thought I would show a different way of presenting. I added canvas to the top,left and right side. I also shortened the stem.

[Charles Wesley]

Anita,

Like the contrast, color and detail. I also like the yellow/ orange colors against a black BG.
Thanks for sharing....
____________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Anita Bower]

Hi Anita, The lighting is beautiful along with an attractive flower. Thought I would show a different way of presenting. I added canvas to the top,left and right side. I also shortened the stem.
I like what you did! I know how to add canvas to top and sides. But, how did you shift the stem?????????

[Dave Mills]

Hi Anita, How I shortened the stem was easy. I made a duplicate of the image. Selected the leaf and bottom area of the stem(Can be sloppy due to the black backround)from the dupe. Moved the selection up the stem on the original and cropped off the area I didn't want which was the original leaf and stem....

[Anita Bower]

Hi Anita, How I shortened the stem was easy. I made a duplicate of the image. Selected the leaf and bottom area of the stem(Can be sloppy due to the black backround)from the dupe. Moved the selection up the stem on the original and cropped off the area I didn't want which was the original leaf and stem....
Thanks for doing it and for sharing how.

[Julie Kenward]

Nicely done Anita (and Dave)! I love the original except for the tight edges - but the change in stem is also very nice! Anita, you are finding some incredible light and using it to the max. I see Dave's version is a bit more saturated - I like your flower levels but do prefer his greener stem. Lovely image, overall...

[Dave Mills]

Hi Jules, The saturation did change in the repost but just for the record I didn't do anything to it...

[Mike Moats]

Hey Anita, very nice image, like the details and the yellow really pops against the black BG.

[Anita Bower]

Thank you, friends, for your comments. I am loving the light I get by a window on an overcast afternoon--a bit of a surprise.

[Anita Bower]

Hi Anita, How I shortened the stem was easy. I made a duplicate of the image. Selected the leaf and bottom area of the stem(Can be sloppy due to the black backround)from the dupe. Moved the selection up the stem on the original and cropped off the area I didn't want which was the original leaf and stem....

Dave:

I just tried doing what you described and it worke! This is a new trick for me, and I'm delighted. Thank you very much for taking the time to make the changes and for telling me how to do them!!! :D

[Charles Wesley]

Anita,

It appears the window light is diffused and compresses the dynamic range to more closely match your camera's sensor range. You get a great color gammut in the final results.
___________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Dave Mills]

Hi Anita, It was my pleasure!!