Mitch Haimov
04-12-2011, 10:58 PM
Canon EOS 5D, Canon 180 mm macro lens, extension tubes, tripod. Manual exposure (0.3 second at f/5), ISO 100, manual focus.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5309/5615368706_fcea14ff75_b.jpg
This is the same dahlia and unidentified (mostly) purple flowers as in my post of April 7 (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/82435-Flaming-Dahlia), but lower magnification and a very different mood. I can't decide how much I like this image--sometimes I like the balance/tension between the in-focus white flower amid the OOF purple ones and the single sharp dahlia petal and the combination of warm and cool colors (tho I always prefer the image of the same subject in my prior). Other times it seems "off" for reasons I can't quite put my finger on beyond the specific problem addressed below.
Post processing consisted of RAW conversion, a curve, and my attempt to de-emphasize three highlight areas near UL RoT position resulting from light shining through gaps in the arrangement. I am not entirely satisfied with the results of that attempt and am open to/appreciate suggestions in that regard, as well as any other comments or suggestions you may have. After some experimenting, the technique I used was alternately sampling areas around the highlights and painting at low opacity with a soft brush on a new layer with blend mode set to Darker Color. The results are certainly an improvement and far less hot than w/o this layer, but my eye is still drawn from the sharp areas of the image to this portion of the OOF BG. Perhaps I should just clone the highlights out, but was trying to come up with a more elegant solution.
Thanks for reading this far--sorry if I'm being too long winded!
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5309/5615368706_fcea14ff75_b.jpg
This is the same dahlia and unidentified (mostly) purple flowers as in my post of April 7 (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/82435-Flaming-Dahlia), but lower magnification and a very different mood. I can't decide how much I like this image--sometimes I like the balance/tension between the in-focus white flower amid the OOF purple ones and the single sharp dahlia petal and the combination of warm and cool colors (tho I always prefer the image of the same subject in my prior). Other times it seems "off" for reasons I can't quite put my finger on beyond the specific problem addressed below.
Post processing consisted of RAW conversion, a curve, and my attempt to de-emphasize three highlight areas near UL RoT position resulting from light shining through gaps in the arrangement. I am not entirely satisfied with the results of that attempt and am open to/appreciate suggestions in that regard, as well as any other comments or suggestions you may have. After some experimenting, the technique I used was alternately sampling areas around the highlights and painting at low opacity with a soft brush on a new layer with blend mode set to Darker Color. The results are certainly an improvement and far less hot than w/o this layer, but my eye is still drawn from the sharp areas of the image to this portion of the OOF BG. Perhaps I should just clone the highlights out, but was trying to come up with a more elegant solution.
Thanks for reading this far--sorry if I'm being too long winded!