Only In My Dreams

[Julie Kenward]

It snowed again last night. That's three times since Christmas eve we've been dumped on. I found myself stuck in the files from February and March of last year looking for something to cheer me up and this crocus did the trick. :)

Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
f4.5 @ 1/20th, ISO 400
Handheld (on ground with elbows braced), natural light
Processed in ACR & CS4; used Viveza to lighten/brighten stamen.

[Peter Farrell]

Very nice, Julie. I like the overall softness of the image and the sharpness of the (leaf like) portion of the stamen. The fg portion of the petals help to add depth to the image. And the colors are awesome.
Maybe a slight crop of the top to lose the light brown triangle. I can see how this would help relieve your cabin fever. If you want you can send some of your snow this way, but only a few inches please.
Peter

[Allen Sparks]

Julie, I am not very artistic but even I can appreciate what you achieved in this shot. I like the focal point being on the outstretched stamen with the rest of the image providing a soft cushion...very nice.

p.s. unlike Peter, I ask you please keep all that snow...we have yet to get hit by any of it in Memphis.

[Julie Kenward]

Peter, that brown corner was originally a light orange that was in a few other corners - I cloned those small patches out in the other cases but missed that one. I'll touch it up - thanks for the eagle eyes!

The weathermen said we were only going to get an inch of additional snow overnight so I prepared 16 deviled eggs to take to a church brunch this morning. Instead, we have three new inches, it's still snowing and we now have another winter weather advisory out because 9 degrees is the high for today.

Anybody want some deviled eggs??? :eek:

[Charles Wesley]

Jules,

Very nice work. Will look better with some cloning as you suggested.
Thanks for sharing...
____________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Arthur Morris]

Love the image design and obviously the colors. And I like the little yellow-brown triangle; it picks up on the stamen and moves the eye around the frame. I am thinking that I would like to see the stamen less saturated but more sharpened to get it to pop from the rest of the flower.... Just a thought from a bird photographer :)

[Julie Kenward]

Here's another version with the saturation lowered & warmed up a bit in the yellows and the stamen re-sharpened. Not too sure I can get more sharpness in the stamen without producing some undesirable side effects so we'll see how this floats...

[Arthur Morris]

Well done Jules. In the OP the stamen was sort of lost....

[Don Lacy]

Hi Jules, really like the repost with the sharper stamen, love the color and sweep of the line running thru the frame.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jules,
Re-post works for me!!!...not too shabby recommendations from the bird photog:)!...and you nailed his suggestions!
Now for the snow rut.....brutally cold here in NJ.....I'm posting something just for you....to warm you up!

[Don Lacy]

Now for the snow rut.....brutally cold here in NJ.....I'm posting something just for you....to warm you up!
Hey Jules, If it makes you feel any better there are freeze warnings out for tonight here in South Florida:eek:

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Jules. Beautiful image and I also prefer the repost. Love the soft, dreamy feel to this and lovely colours as well.:)

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Loved the repost. Very very well seen. Loved the dreamy feel.