Witch Hazel -- Hamamelis × intermedia (non-nataive)

[Anita Bower]

Taken today at Longwood Gardens. The Witch Hazel is at it's peak. Overcast morning, light breeze. The yellow background is a yellow Witch Hazel.

Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro with 12mm extension tube, f5.6 (Relative), 1/100 sec., ISO 250. tripod, manual exposure, manual focus with Live View.

PP: PS7, basic curves, levels, saturation, contrast, color balance. Lightened areas in lower half to match top, light brush on top part of stem, slight crop, slight vignette.

[Norm Dulak]

That's certainly different Anita.

I like the diagonal line and the positioning of the plant in the frame. But I'd also like to see more contrast, to better distinguish the plant from the background. And I wonder what the image would look like, without the vignetting. The breeze may have made the image somewhat soft, but I'm OK with that.

BTW, how far are you from Longwood Gardens? Perhaps Linda and I could meet you there sometime, during one of our monthly trips to the gardens. :cheers:

Norm

[Ken Childs]

I agree with Norm, this certainly is a different looking plant! It's an interesting subject and the comp looks great but to my eyes, the tips of the petals are blending in with the BG. I opened this in CS3 and applied a 10% reduction to the highlights in SH and IMHO, this was all that was needed to make it fit my tastes. :S3:

This is only 600px on the long size. Did you need to downsize it to get it to fit under the 200kb limit?

[Anita Bower]

I always appreciate suggestions to improve my images. That is what this forum is all about for me!

I took the image into Elements 7, reduced the vignette, though I didn't eliminate it; and changed the highlights in SH.

Is the result what you, Ken and Norm, had in mind? I think it looks better.

About the size--I made it small because I didn't want a huge image. Was it too small?

[Norm Dulak]

I always appreciate suggestions to improve my images. That is what this forum is all about for me!

I took the image into Elements 7, reduced the vignette, though I didn't eliminate it; and changed the highlights in SH.

Is the result what you, Ken and Norm, had in mind? I think it looks better.

About the size--I made it small because I didn't want a huge image. Was it too small?

Thanks Anita. I appreciate your efforts and do like your repost better.

Norm

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Anita. This is a plant I haven't seen before - the flowers are certainly unusual looking! I like the comp and background. Nice job getting all those flower parts sharp at f/5.6. It's subjective, but for my taste, I prefer the repost. Well done.

[Ken Childs]

Anita, the repost looks better to me, too! :S3: