Popping the Water Lily

I posted this earlier this year in the Macro Forum, and I wanted add some life to the image with some of the techniques I have been learning here.......... The image was taken during a storm in heavy overcast skies, resulting in a very flat light appearance.

I used Nikon Capture NX2, rather than CS5, since I don't have all the pluggins yet. Started with Glamor Glow, similar to Orton Effect, then did some articulation with NIK Tonal Contrast
to give it detail and depth. I did some further experimenting in Curves color channels trying to get a more 3-D look. Finally some color balancing for the hues I wanted.

Looking for feedback, did I overdo it?

Nikon D3s
280mm
ISO 800
1/160 sec @ f/16

Thanks for the look.............

Jay, I don't think you went too far for OOTB. Bright beautiful colors with a nice pop. I love the black BG. The one dark petal at the ULC is a minor distraction. Well done.

Jay,

Greetings. I like the color pop, though Orton tends to soften things a bit and is best used for that softness. Not sure where softness fits in here, the center of the right side flower looks soft to me, leaves me wondering what a sharper image would look like while maintaining the color. I do like the color.

Cheers,

-Michael-

Michael,

Still being new at this.......I sometimes use Glamor Glow very sparingly to jazz up the colors. Then I add clarity to get back the detail. I was after pop here, mainly..........agree on the right side and will fix that up. Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay Sheinfield

Michael,

Still being new at this.......I sometimes use Glamor Glow very sparingly to jazz up the colors. Then I add clarity to get back the detail. I was after pop here, mainly..........agree on the right side and will fix that up. Thanks.

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Jay,

Perhaps, you might try jazzing up the color without softening (it's hard to reclaim lost detail, particularly finer detail). If you have PS, Lab mode curves (a and b channel) works very well for this purpose. I don't use NX2 for this but I think there is something similar. Just some ideas...

Cheers,

-Michael-

Jay, I love the colors and dark bg and the water droplets. I like it:)

Hi Jay, Love the color pop! It looks perfect, not overdone at all. Lovely color combination and I like all the water droplets covering the petals. Well done.

Jay, definitely not overdone to my eye. I really like the two colors together and the drops add interest. Nice placement of the flowers in the frame too.

Thanks folks for the feedback.................thoughtful and considerate.

Denise, good catch on the dark leaf.

Michael...........your feedback, along with the others is a great example of why I'm posting here......to learn! :)