Flower (monochrome)

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Made this image during a hike in nearby woods.
Converted to monochrome & pulled down the greens/yellows while retaining the magenta/pinks (which was the colour of the flower).

Not sure if this works...

Techs:
Nikon D300, 18-105mm kit.
f/6.3, 1/100 @105mm

Critiques welcome...

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Kaushik,
This works very well....but I do think it needs a few tweaks to make it really shine. There are a few leaves that are a bit bright at the upper frame edge...from about 1 o'clock to the URC.....toning them down slightly....to more evenly match the other brighter areas will help....although the URC one should be darkest of all to not attract the eye. I do like the way the one bloom stands out against the dark area....although exploring a greater tonal range there may also work.....but it could also take away from the mood and feel of the image....so be careful there! Overall, toning down those bright areas will help a lot.....so just those small tweaks will make this shine even more for me.

[Bob Miller]

Hi Kaushik.....This works for me....I agree with Roman about darkening down the leaves near the edge....

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Kaushik, very nice contrast between flower and darker leaves. I wonder how this looks in color, but I think the monochrome adds to the contrast.
I would consider taking a slice of the left of the frame, to get the flower closer to the LL ROT hotspot and draw more attention to it. You will also lose a bit of the really dark area, which feels a bit empty.

[Julie Kenward]

Agree with Roman PLUS I would clone the few tiny white spots and the web thread that are near the flower so they don't distract from the power of the lightest tone and the center of attention (the flower!) I also wouldn't mind seeing a bit less shadow in the ULC but just a touch more - I don't want you to lose that dark to light flow that goes across the image.

[Anita Bower]

Beautiful effect with your postprocessing! I like how the flower stands out and the leaves and other flowers are visible, distinguishable, but dark. I agree with the suggestions made by others. I might crop a bit off the bottom also,but, not necessary. Very nice! I like that you tried something that I find different.