Heart Of The Matter

[Norm Dulak]

Canon PowerShot S90
ISO Equiv. 320
f/8.0 @ 1/80 sec, natural light, HH
Aperture priority; Auto WB; Evaluative Metering; IS

PP: Mild Topaz DeNoise 4; PS CS5 levels, curves and minor cropping
Minor blemishes were cleaned up by cloning

Very interesting and well crafted images of Poinsettia leaves have been posted previously in this forum. Here, from Longwood Gardens, another perspective of the Poinsettia is presented for your review and comment.

I chose instead to concentrate on the center of a Poinsettia, in which the flowers are the center of attraction, framed by the leaves. In this image you will see the various stages of flower development, from new buds, to full blooms, to fading blooms, and finally, seed pods. And if you look carefully, you will also see three ants working the flowers.

All comments are welcome!

Norm

[Dave Leroy]

It is such an interesting looking plant, and I think I may see 4 ants, three for sure.

The plant is quite symmetrical and the centred composition works really well.

I like how the dof shows off all the various aspects of the blossums.

Dave

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Norm. The centered comp works well and the DOF has everything sharp. I'm not so sure I like the ants on this one (and I usually do like insects on flowers) - but there is a lot going on in this image with all the small flowers and I think the image would be stronger without the ants. :) That's just my opinion and it will be interesting to hear what other folks think.

[Julie Kenward]

Nice focal point on this one! I very much like the centered/square-ish comp and the ants don't really bother me (unless you decide to print it and then I'd say get rid of the little buggers!) I am wondering about the magenta leaves, though...they feel overly saturated in places. Did you have some harsh sun? Maybe calming down the LLC and pulling the magentas back a bit would help.

Overall, it's a lovely look at a poinsettia!

[Norm Dulak]

Nice focal point on this one! I very much like the centered/square-ish comp and the ants don't really bother me (unless you decide to print it and then I'd say get rid of the little buggers!) I am wondering about the magenta leaves, though...they feel overly saturated in places. Did you have some harsh sun? Maybe calming down the LLC and pulling the magentas back a bit would help.

Overall, it's a lovely look at a poinsettia!

Hi Jules.

I'd prefer that the ants weren't there also, but that's nature. Longwood is pretty good at biological controls but apparently doesn't have an answer for these critters. Maybe PS content aware could remove them.

As for the light, this plant was especially attractive since it was in subdued light, unlike most of the plants.

Norm

[Norm Dulak]

For those of you who don't like the ants on the flowers, i've removed them here. But my personal view is that you take your flowers as you find them. :p

BTW, when I tried to remove the ants using PS CS5 Content Aware, the results were hilarious (and horrible). :( So I resorted to good, old fashioned cloning.

Norm

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Norm,
I'm OK with the ants as they didn't distract me and with the centered comp....because crop would clip one of the new emerging leaves. I'm going to pull this into PS to see if I can work on those outer leaves.....as I have had the same issue Jules is talking about. Stay tuned!

[Norm Dulak]

Hey Norm,
I'm OK with the ants as they didn't distract me and with the centered comp....because crop would clip one of the new emerging leaves. I'm going to pull this into PS to see if I can work on those outer leaves.....as I have had the same issue Jules is talking about. Stay tuned!

Thanks Roman. I look forward to the results! :)

[Ken Childs]

Hey Norm, I'm with Jules and Roman on the comp and the lovely center. I also agree that those outer leaves don't look quite right so I'm looking forward to what Roman comes up with. :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Norm,
Selective color layer on the outer leave area>magenta channel -55. LCE 27/40/0 on entire image. Let me know what you think. Saved at 52 quality to fit. My consider tweaking the red channel too in H/S......but I like bolder so adjust to taste!
PS Might fix whitish area 5 o'clock and water damage area about 11 o'clock.

[Jay Sheinfield]

I like it.............the repost even better. Great detail. Agree with Jules, the ants should go if printing. maybe some leaf clean up..........

[Norm Dulak]

Hey Norm,
Selective color layer on the outer leave area>magenta channel -55. LCE 27/40/0 on entire image. Let me know what you think. Saved at 52 quality to fit. My consider tweaking the red channel too in H/S......but I like bolder so adjust to taste!
PS Might fix whitish area 5 o'clock and water damage area about 11 o'clock.

I like it Roman! :) Rich, vibrant colors and an impressive attention to detail. And I'm pleased that your rendition retains the ants. Thanks. :cheers:

Norm