First Post

[Catherine Costolo]

Ok. There are so many beautiful images posted here! I am finally taking the plunge and posting one of mine. In CS5 I used the Flaming Pear plug-in (swerve or twist) and then i added a texture and a layer mask. I masked out the effect of the texture on the flower and the stems and leaves. I also did a levels adjustment (I think).
Looking forward to your comments.
Thanks, Catherine

[Brendan Dozier]

Hi Catherine, and welcome! Very nice oil on canvas, painterly look you've created with this composition. With the beautiful processing you have done, this is probably better suited being posted in the post processing technique forum called: Out Of The Box (OOTB). The theme this week is "Yellow", so this would be perfect. Here's a link:

Here's a link: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/forumdisplay.php/51-Out-Of-The-Box-In-Camera-and-Post-Processing-Techniques

I really like the softness with the shallow dof, and the almost 3D effect of the most forward petals in this. Nice low angle, diagonal line, and the light purple in the BG really helps to bring out the yellow of the flower. I might clone out the one bright petal edge/tip that points downward on the right side, and lighten up the dark green in the receptacle, upper stem area. Very nicely done! :5 Looking forward to seeing more of your work!

Also, in the future when you post in Macro and other forums, don't forget to list your camera type, lens, and capture info like shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings. This will help people give you more constructive advice.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Catherine,
Welcome to the forums. I do like the simplicity and texture although this type of image belongs more in OOTB......because of that texture.

I do think an angle of the flower slightly towards you would help eliminate some of the dead space below......but a crop would also work. When you do post in the macro forum in the future, we allow minimum manipulation and do remember to post the specs.....as many as you can to get the best critiques possible. I am going to leave this thread here for now but also copy it to OOTB so you may also get comments there.

[Catherine Costolo]

Brendan and Roman, thank you for your comments and advice. I will post this in the OOTB forum as soon as I can. i have tried to post it in OOTB but keep getting the message that " I have reached the maximum threads allowed in a 1440 minute period for this forum". i assume it will reset at some point.
Thanks.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Catherine,
I copied the thread.....it is there now!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Catherine and welcome! This is a very interesting treatment of your flower image, though I agree that this is more appropriate for the OOTB forum. :S3: You have some good suggestions above to consider so I won't repeat. I look forward to seeing more of your work here in Macro and I would encourage you to also post comments on the images of others - it fosters a sense of community and is a great way to learn how to improve your own work. :S3: