Giant Amazon Water Lily in Bloom

[John Storjohann]

From a shoot this morning...image taken with 100-400 zoomed to 250mm, f/16@1/40. Made it a panorama style crop to compliment the one taken earlier with an unopened blooms. RAW image converted in LR then brought into PS for some regional toning and lightening. I evicted a few underwater stems that were distracting...and I had to rebuild the left tip of the pad. When I shot the original, there was a sign that was rather omni-present covering the left tip, so I zoomed in enough not to include the tip at all and then rebuilt in PS. Looking forward to any comments or suggestions.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Hey John,

You nailed the exposure! Nice pan to compliment the lily, shadow and pad. Great capture. Love the pink color in the bloom!

[John Storjohann]

Thanks, Jay...I realized after posting that these pads aren't as rounded as the tip I rebuilt (I was using other shots as a guide)...so I re-processed the image and the rebuild. Have a great trip!

[Dave Leroy]

Good looking photo. Given a choice I would go for original whether or not it was less accurate. It seems more serene with the rounded tip.
Good eye to see the opportunity and overcome the sign issue.

Dave

[Steve Maxson]

Hi John. Nice job rebuilding the tip of the pad - both times. :S3: The beautiful soft light, the calm water, and the perfect reflection give the image a serene look (in spite of the thorns). Excellent detail in the whites and the pano crop makes for a very pleasing comp. Very well done.

[Julie Kenward]

I also think you did a great patch job on that tip! I never would have guessed...

Lovely colors against that jet black water - super sharp and so lovely to look at. Really appreciate the crop here - just enough room all the way around.

[Bob Miller]

John...very nice image indeed! I like the way the reds of the pad are complimented by the pinks of the bloom. Nice job rebuilding the tip. I think it does make a small but important difference. reflections are perfect and the crop is super! Nice work again! :S3: :5

[John Storjohann]

Thank you for the comments...I don't think I've ever come across a more welcoming group of people...deeply appreciated!