Cactus swirl

Hello all. I captured this cactus last weekend at the Los Angeles County Arboretum. The arboretum sustained a lot of damage in the recent wind storms and lost 273 trees, with over 700 trees requiring major surgery. Fortunately, they were able to open on the day after Christmas and restoration work is well under way. I have been given permission to hold workshops there, so keep an eye out for an announcement! I used a variety of filters for this image, including Topaz DeNoise, Detail, and Adjust, as well as Pixel Bender Oil Paint.

Image quality suffered a lot in the size reduction required for the site - down to 42 quality in the compression...

Wow! This image has impact. To my eye the composition is perfect. Darkening the borders is subtle and works well to prevent bits of the cactus from being cut off at the frame. Wonderful colors. The post processing brings out the best. I had no idea of the winds or the damage in LA.

Kerry, I love the spines - they all look like dancing stars. The thumbnail looked like a sunflower that hasn't opened - isn't there some design principle re repeating patterns?

Kerry, you obviously had a very strong image to begin with - always a big help! - and the processing you've done has given it (at least to my eye) an almost Van Gogh like quality. My only nitpick is that I wish the white center had retained a bit more of the original detail...but that's a matter of personal taste and vision. Really, really nicely done.

I love the composition and the PB filtering really did a good job on the spines and body of the cactus.

Great news about the Arboretum. I love the image and the filtering! Great job!!

Kerry, I saw this on your facebook page and liked it immediately. Excellent in all respect! I love the spine and the color... a great example of design in nature! Excellent processing:S3:

Fantastic! I love the repeating elements and the tension of angles & swirls working together towards the explosion of the center. In my opinion, PB Oil is a brilliant filter and can be used in so many creative and effective ways. Very dramatic!