Rosescape I

I have to preface this by saying I am normally not a big fan of rose images - even my own! - simply because I find that they have been shot so often as floral subjects that images can tend to be a cliche. Then again...that's the challenge of shooting a rose! So...I spent an hour or so this morning working a few roses...looking forward to comments and suggestions. Shot with a 180mm lens, f/22@1/30. Processed the RAW image in LR; used NIK ColorEfex to create a bit of a soft glow...and that's about it. A slight curve adjustment for tone and color.

The combination of pale tones, the glow and the spiraling edges look luxurious. One could just sink into those gentle folds.

John, I love the soft feel to this and the luminous quality makes it glow. I might prefer a tighter crop from the bottom but you would lose one of the spirals so I'm not sure.:S3:

Hi John, this is very nice. Love the whites. If it were mine I would crop from the bottom to just above the lowest most petal, but that's just me :S3:

Lovely image, John. The soft glow is beautiful. I agree with the suggestions above to crop a bit from the lower edge.

Thank you for your responses...I am posting an edit per the suggestions..to be honest, not sure if I like it more or not...I like the "length" of the original...but I do see the merit of removing the lower petal...have to mull this one over! :t3

And...for the Fractalius fans out there...a slight edit of the edit...:e3

John,
I like the soft color tones and the processing. The repost looks good and so does the fractalius. I too like the length in the original.

Thank you, Denise. You should head to St. Louis at some point...the Missouri Botanical Gardens are stunning...the lotus should be coming up in about 7 or 8 weeks...one of my favorite flowers to photograph.

John, I bet it is an amazing place. I love Lotus too!

Before seeing the comments and re-posts, I took a long look at alternate compositions and decided I'd stick with the original if it were mine. I still feel that way. The Fractalius look is a nice alternative even though I like the softer feel without it. The curves and tones are very nice. In this case, another rose image is a good thing.

Nice image and application, John.

I agree with Dennis. I like the original over the reposts. I think the bottom adds to the image. But that is just one voice in the crowd. :w3

John, I too like the original... wonderful soft colors!

Another vote for original...I am late to this party but very nice work....TFS

Thank you for the comments...I have to agree, I like the original the best, but I may go back to the drawing board with Fractalius at some point as well...a different blend mode, something...there is an element to that filtering I like, but it overpowers the image in its current form. Live and learn! Thanks again for your comments and suggestions.

I love the softness and creamy colors. In my opinion, it's a tough subject to crop. I might revisit the subject and try a different angle of shooting, maybe incorporating more of the blossom. Overall, I really like this one. Then again, i LOVE roses, but the point being I think you did very nicely on this one. My suggestion is only food for thought. :)

Thank you, Cynthia...food for thought is a good thing! Don't think I can revisit this rose though...it's fading away quickly. Maybe the next batch of blooms!