Calla Lily

[Anita Bower]

I loved the graceful shape of this Calla Lily seen from above. Taken indoors in the Longwood Gardens conservatory several weeks ago.

Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro, tripod, f40 ("relative"), 1/6 sec., ISO 160; manual focus with Live View, manual exposure, diffuser above flower to cut bright light.

PP: PS7--basic adj., crop, add canvas to top, green & yellow color layers on some areas, heavy dust and scratch removal from leaves, burn.

[Hazel Grant]

Based on your description of PP work, it was indeed a bit of work set up and to to get the scratches, etc from the leaves but oh so worth it. I like the overall softness, which I assume was helped a lot by the diffused light you created. At first that little vertical at the end of the flower bothered me but then I decided it really gave a connection to the leaves and rooted it. Well caught.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Anita, a good eye for the lovely curling shapes in this image. I'm not sure if it will blow the whites , but I would like to see this a bit brighter. On the other hand, you may lose some of those lovely details on the flower.
I notice that you always state a "relative" aperture. I'm not sure what you mean by that and can't judge if you could have stopped down more, but I would have liked the flower center to be less soft.
All in all a very pleasing image anyway!

[Anita Bower]

Based on your description of PP work, it was indeed a bit of work set up and to to get the scratches, etc from the leaves but oh so worth it. I like the overall softness, which I assume was helped a lot by the diffused light you created. At first that little vertical at the end of the flower bothered me but then I decided it really gave a connection to the leaves and rooted it. Well caught.

Thanks for you comment! Actually, I didn't have to do all that much work--I let the filter handle most of the spots on the leaves, while I omitted the blurring on the flower itself.. :-)

[Anita Bower]

Hi Anita, a good eye for the lovely curling shapes in this image. I'm not sure if it will blow the whites , but I would like to see this a bit brighter. On the other hand, you may lose some of those lovely details on the flower.
I notice that you always state a "relative" aperture. I'm not sure what you mean by that and can't judge if you could have stopped down more, but I would have liked the flower center to be less soft.
All in all a very pleasing image anyway!

Thanks for commenting.

Re. the f stop. I should probably write "effective" f aperture. On my lens, the aperture changes when I get close to a subject. I can't really explain it, but a good explanation can be found here (http://www.jeffree.co.uk/pages/macro-faqs.html) (scroll down to "When I focus close, the f number on my Nikon SLR body increases." The short answer is that I could not have stopped down any more.

[Gary Esman]

Hi Anita, nice eye on this. My eye is drawn through the spiral. The large lines in the background from the leaves is very pleasant. Very nice work.

Gary.

[denise ippolito]

Anita, I really like this. The rich green background makes your Calla Lily pop. I think it looks nice a little soft-some images don't but I think this one does. I might take a sliver off the top if it were mine.:S3:

[Mitch Haimov]

Very nice, Anita. Calla Lilies make interesting subjects, and you selected an excellent one for this composition. I really like all of the combination flowing, curving lines.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Anita. Nice use of the diffuser. I like the muted light on this one, the diagonal comp of the flower, and you have good detail in the whites. That spiral draws your eye right into the center of the flower. The sharpness, as presented, works for me, but you might also consider some additional selective sharpening on just the yellow center to see if you like that better. :S3: Well done.

[Anita Bower]

I appreciate the comments! I have cropped some off the top, brightened it up a bit and sharpened the center yellow a bit. All improvement suggested her. :-)

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Good eye on this one, I like the composition, the leaves in the bg are also very nice. Well done.

[Brendan Dozier]

Very nice composition, Anita. Like the soft light, lines, and shapes to this. Really like how the edges came out on both the petal & the dark green leaves. Was wondering, what part of the processing helped to create those edge? :S3:

[Anita Bower]

Very nice composition, Anita. Like the soft light, lines, and shapes to this. Really like how the edges came out on both the petal & the dark green leaves. Was wondering, what part of the processing helped to create those edge? :S3:

Thank you for your comments. Your question is an interesting one and took me back into photoshop to see the original image and what I had done. The accented edges were there in the original image, so I think they were created by the diffused light of the conservatory and the diffuser I used, as well as the angle of the plant--all facing somewhat up. PP just made sure the edges stood out a bit more or didn't get lost. Hope that helps.

[Ken Childs]

Hi Anita, I love this angle and the spiral taking us down into the center of the flower looks great! There have been some good suggestions already given but I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. I like the idea of brightening up the flower but I wouldn't want to see the BG any brighter so if this were mine, I would boost the contrast instead of brightening up the entire image with a little extra contrast given to the yellow center. I like the lines of the BG but I'm not in love with the brightness of those lines.....they're just a bit too distracting for my tastes so I would try to tone those down. Overall this in an image you should be proud of. :S3:

[Anita Bower]

Hi Anita, I love this angle and the spiral taking us down into the center of the flower looks great! There have been some good suggestions already given but I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. I like the idea of brightening up the flower but I wouldn't want to see the BG any brighter so if this were mine, I would boost the contrast instead of brightening up the entire image with a little extra contrast given to the yellow center. I like the lines of the BG but I'm not in love with the brightness of those lines.....they're just a bit too distracting for my tastes so I would try to tone those down. Overall this in an image you should be proud of. :S3:

Thanks for your comments. This post is the final image after making some of the suggested adjustments. I kept the bg lines because I like them--must be a matter of taste. :bg3:

[denise ippolito]

Very nice Anita, you really did a great job with this one.

[Anita Bower]

Very nice Anita, you really did a great job with this one.

Thank you, Denise!

[Desmond Chan]

Wow ! Another marvelous image, Anita !!

I think I should try shoot some Calla Lily myself :S3:

[Anita Bower]

Wow ! Another marvelous image, Anita !!

I think I should try shoot some Calla Lily myself :S3:

Thank you. Calla Lilies have been the subject for many excellent photographers. :-)

[Mitch Haimov]

Great job on the repost, Anita. Definitely an improvement on an already fine image.

[Anita Bower]

Great job on the repost, Anita. Definitely an improvement on an already fine image.

Thank you!