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Nick Palmieri
12-10-2009, 05:22 PM
Shot this in the Adirondacks in September. It was a cold morning but there was still some flowers around. Canon EOS 40D, 100mm, ISO 100, SS 1/20, f/14, on camera fill flash. I was on my belly and used a sandbag to support the camera. Darkened the BG in PP.

Julie Kenward
12-10-2009, 06:47 PM
Nick, you really found a gem here! I've tried to be out when the dew is heavy and always miss out on something this nicely covered.

I want to make two suggestions here. First, if there is no natural curve to a flower's stem it's really best to present it as it would be found naturally. Probably my opinion only but this angle just looks wrong to me. Also, you have quite a bit of black space at the top and not enough stem to balance out the size of the daisy head. I took some off the top and added and cloned a bit to the bottom and came up with this.

Yes, it's a more "normal" view of the flower but the dew is what makes it special and you did a very nice job of capturing that without over exposing or over sharpening it. I also added just a touch of selective light on the two front petals as they seemed a bit darker than the others. I used a "paint with light" action that you can download from action central for free but you could also easily do a levels adjustment as well.

Nick Palmieri
12-10-2009, 07:38 PM
Thanks Julie, You got me thinking and I just went back to the RAW files. That was the natural direction of the flower, I believe it fell over from the frost. Some were still upright and some were listing. I am not sure where the actual bend was...you have me thinking now...This one actually has dew on it, so maybe when the frost melted they popped back up. Thanks for the valuable input.

Christopher Miller
12-10-2009, 08:01 PM
Very nice subject, Nick. I like the colors against the black BG and, of course, all the frost. I was thinking the same thing as Jules regarding the angle. IMO the flower definitely looks better in the upright position. I also think it might look a little better with the highlights toned down a bit.

Katherine Enns
12-10-2009, 09:28 PM
I really like this third post of the alternative image, it has so much more texture due to the thawed droplets. This is just an ordinary oxe-eye daisy, but its rare to get it with frost on it, and still looking as beautiful as this. This is lovely.

Julie Kenward
12-11-2009, 08:25 AM
I agree with Katherine but I still think there's too much negative space at the top or not enough stem at the bottom. Could just be me...

Charles Wesley
12-11-2009, 09:19 AM
Nick,

Very nice work on your daisy. I like the lighting on the second version. By making it a vertical and tightly framed, it's so much more powerful. Verticals can be uplifting. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for sharing...
____________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

Barbara Kile
12-11-2009, 10:25 AM
I agree with Julie - the 3rd post has a little too much space at the top, but the image aside from that is full of wonderful contrasts and lighting. Great capture.

Vida van der Walt
12-11-2009, 11:24 AM
Another vote for the 3rd version with less space on top. Love the water drops and great colours.

Mike Moats
12-11-2009, 02:26 PM
Hey Nick, totally agree on the positioning of the flower, you may have found it that way but 99% of the time they are going to be in an upward position, so the vertical just looks natural. When i first opened the image it was my first instinct to turn my head. Did a nice job on the repost.

denise ippolito
12-12-2009, 06:58 PM
Nick, Really nice find. I like the upright version. I think that the 3rd image looks a bit more natural but the other ones have a very unique and interesting look to them! Well done.

Ed Vatza
12-13-2009, 06:48 AM
Hi Nick. Just thought I'd add my two cents here. I do think vert is the way to go but I am not a fan of the stem and flower standing straight up through the center of the image. It feels very static and not very creative. While maintaining the verticality, I like to see the stem enter at an angle more from the direction of a corner. Maybe that's just me.

Anita Bower
12-16-2009, 07:38 AM
These are beautiful captures of this flower with frost and dew. I like the light, colors, details, dark BG. I like both images very much. Other's have commented on the vertical vs. horizontal issue. I agree with Ed that a bit of an angle would benefit the third image. Thanks for sharing!