Daylily in the Evening

[Julie Kenward]

There is a retaining wall full of daylilies near my home that sits behind a shopping center. This time of year it is on fire with these flowers in a wide variety of colors. The wall goes from about 2' off the ground to almost 12' so I get a variety of angles to work with.

This was taken last evening right before sunset, hence the sidelighting and shadows.

Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
f 10 @ 1/250th, ISO 400
Daylight WB, Pattern metering, fill flash, handheld
I did clone out some dying pieces along the stem and lightened the back side of the main bud and shadowed areas with Viveza. The rest of the pp was in CS4.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice colours and an uncluttered composition. I am not entirely sure about the square format - but then I cannot really see it in any other unless the angle was changed perhaps. Perhaps more vertical and in a portrait format??

[Julie Kenward]

Jon, I'm like you in that I don't use a square crop unless I think it yields the strongest composition. I could go vertical but then I'm going to be left with a lot of negative space on top. If I go horizontal, the same thing happens - a lot of space to the right. I chose this crop because it seemed to be the best of both.

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Like it as presented. Nice evening soft light on the flower.
Though the colour form is certainly very good, I might try out the B&W conversion which would emphasize on the shapes formed (collectively) by the flower and the 3 buds.

[Julie Kenward]

Nice idea, Kaushik...I'll do that!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Julie, lovely colors. That wall must be a sight, especially in this light! Although I like the composition as presented, it would be nice to see more of the inside of the flower. I see some halo effects, especially around the bud, the underside of the flower and the stem, but I must say that my laptop LCD monitor is ruthless...

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jules,
Like Jerry....I too see the halo.....but an easy revisit. I do like the color contrasts and the light......debating the rotation....while it may show the central part more.....I'm OK with the OP presentation too. Just a quick fix of the halo will take this up a notch.

[Anita Bower]

I love the colors in this image! I like the square crop, the light falling mostly on the open flower, the composition. the lovely sky BG. Nice job.