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Julie Kenward
06-21-2010, 07:14 PM
Rain. Heat. Humidity. FINE!

This is a sunflower plant that grew from the discarded seeds near my birdfeeder station. I took this one late afternoon after yet ANOTHER downpour and the heat and humidity was dripping in the air. The sun was setting off to the side and I was looking up at the flower. I added a bit of darkness around the edges and a touch of light at the center of the flower to pull the attention there. I also added a soft glow at a very reduced opacity so the "fog and humidity" effect was even more pronounced.

I went back and pulled the yellows down a bit even though they weren't showing being clipped but I'm wondering if maybe they need some of their "punch" back? What do you think?

Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
f5 @ 1/200th, ISO 200
Manual mode, daylight WB, handheld, natural light
Processed using ACR, CS4 and a slight vignette from Color Efex

Jackie Schuknecht
06-21-2010, 07:35 PM
Almost orton-like Jules. You can feel the humidity. I think the yellows look good and would keep them, they seem to match the mood of the picture and the pastel greens of the leaves.

Allen Sparks
06-21-2010, 09:08 PM
I like the yellows too Julie...nice mood you set here. great feel.

Anita Bower
06-22-2010, 04:43 AM
Good for you for going out there and taking photos in the awful weather. We have lots of HHH weather here--hot, humid, horrid.:)

I like the subdued colors of this image--both the greens and the yellows, as well as the drops of water. I like the leaves in the lower part of the image, but the bg in the upper 1/3 bothers me a bit--I think the colors may be too uneven, if that makes sense. Not sure what to suggest. Also, have you considered sharpening the center of the flower?

Thanks for sharing.

Julie Kenward
06-22-2010, 07:00 AM
Anita, are you referring to the bluer area in the ULC? I could blend a little green over it at a low opacity if you think that would help. I left it as is because of the blue area in the middle right side but I see your point.

Do you think if I sharpened the flower in the center it would add to the focus or subtract from the "hot humid" effect I was going for?

Jackie, I was going for an "orton-like" effect without actually GOING Orton so yea! I'm glad you picked up on that.

Allen & Jackie, thank you for the confirmation that the yellows are okay. :D I appreciate the comments everyone!

Jonathan Ashton
06-22-2010, 07:11 AM
Very nice image, I have just one little crib, i.e. the saw toothed edge to the leaf top left, it constantly pulls my eye from everything else.

Julie Kenward
06-22-2010, 11:30 AM
Let's see if you like this better. I mellowed out the ULC a bit and sharpened the center of the flower some more. ;)

Kaushik Balakumar
06-22-2010, 01:55 PM
Liked ur repost Julie. The ULC blues (in orig) were a bit odd when rest of BG had shades of greens.

Mike Moats
06-22-2010, 02:19 PM
Hey Jules, love the soft pastely look. Good details and comp.

Ken Childs
06-22-2010, 02:58 PM
The soft, uncomfortably steamy look is really nice. The repost does look better, IMO.

Fabs Forns
06-22-2010, 05:52 PM
I like the OP better, Jules, not to say the repost in not nice, OP had a different mood that gets lost.
It speaks of warm summers :)
Do you want to try humidity? Just visit us!

Julie Kenward
06-22-2010, 07:08 PM
Fabs, I think I'm with you on this one. I also like that first post now that I look at both of them. It's always good to have options, though!

Anita Bower
06-22-2010, 07:15 PM
I like the flowers of both posts--they each have their own feel, so I would go for the one you prefer--which I believe is the first one. However, I prefer the ULC of the repost--blends in better, not distracting at all.

Paul Lagasi
06-22-2010, 08:51 PM
God that sunflower looks sad, drooping, hunched over in the rain ;) ...nice colors, crop...nice image

Roman Kurywczak
06-22-2010, 09:09 PM
Hey Jules,
I agree with the OP's orton effect look....but I agree with the color of the ULC....yet I like the subtle leaf.....call it a combo!

Dave Mills
06-22-2010, 10:09 PM
Hi Jules, I also like the OP better since it has more depth but I like how you muted the backround leaf in the repost. The waterdroplets also add to the images interest....

Jonathan Ashton
06-23-2010, 08:57 AM
I like the flower head in the first image - there is more detail in the petals and the colour is slightly richer, but I prefer the corner in the second image:) - - just awkward I guess!

Julie Kenward
06-23-2010, 04:29 PM
Okay, great! I'll fix the corner in the opening post and go with that one! Thanks so much everyone!

Juan Carlos Vindas
06-25-2010, 07:14 PM
I like both reposts, I prefer the saturation on post#1 but I really like the PS work on post#2. Thanks for sharing.