Another Lily

[Jay Sheinfield]

Taken yesterday at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Bright sun and intermittent hazy clouds made for a challenging shot. Processed in low-key lighting with reverse s-curve to smooth out the tones and colors. Background faded to black for effect.

Still trying out different sharpening settings, may have gone too far......I blew the stamen position on one of the flowers........and the green leaves a bit darker than the original

Hope you like it...........

Nikon D3s
600mm (300mm with 2x tele)
1/400
f/10

[Norm Dulak]

Jay.

This is a very pretty flower, sharp and well composed. And the black background is a very good idea IMO. But I would work on that a bit more, because I see vestiges of green leaves that might be blackened as well. Or they could be selected and brightened to make them more visible. Perhaps that would be better.

When you shot this flower, I wonder if you also got another view taken from a slightly higher angle. That would show more of the petals at the top of the image behind the stamens and might also be interesting to see.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Norm, nice catch....yes, I need to so bit more work on the BG. Wasn't able to get a higher vantage point, it was shot from some distance away...............thanks

[Jay Sheinfield]

Here's a shot at a re-post

[Norm Dulak]

Jay.

Your repost is very nice!

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Beautiful flowers, I like the composition and the dark BG. Repost is better.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jay,
Repost works for me! Not the easiest grouping to photograph either! Very nice job all around!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jay. I think the repost is an improvement. Nice use of the 600 mm macro. :S3: You did well getting most everything in focus. The low-key lighting and dark background give the image an interesting mood. Very well done.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Thanks everyone....... I appreciate the feedback.

[Anita Bower]

Beautiful cluster of lilies! That is my first impression. I prefer the repost. Lovely soft colors of the flowers show up nicely against the dark bg. I would crop a bit off the top. Nice job.