Iris

It's been a while since I've snapped any photos, so I joined John this morning for a shoot. I've always had trouble with Tulips and Iris........never took an image I really liked. Not having John's eye for the flower, I went for a bit of drama on this shot.
I processed this in Low-Key lighting, added a touch of diffusion, and then to Photoshop for a layer of Simplify and then a light layer Adjust 5 Details. I did a fade on the background to black. Finally, light layer of texture from Shadowhouse to soften it up a bit and give the background some depth. Hope you like it......................Cheers.

Jay, it's good to see you posting...haven't even looked at mine yet, just got back from working the school auction. I like the watercolor quality of this...soft, muted tones...strong compositional lines, a wonderful sense of depth...and you did a great job of handling the play of light and shadow across the almost iridescent petals. There's a small black dot on one of the petals upper left...doesn't look like a dust bunny, more like a speck of dirt or a small bug?...that I might evict..and I'm trying to decide if I would take the highlights on that upper petal down a tiny smidge; my eye is drawn there, but if you tone it done it might lose some of the sense of depth, so I'm not sure. Nicely done...hope to see more of your images from today!

Beautiful lines, curves and colors. I like how you got in close. I know you were going for a dark look, but I'd like to see a bit more contrast overall and brightness around the yellow area--to draw the eye in. I might also crop off half of the lower petal, and maybe a bit of the right. You captured the heart of the Iris.

Jay, I'm glad to see you posting again. I've missed you:S3: You seem to be a master at lighting and mood - both qualities I admire and this image fits both. I love the 2 main curving lines on the bottom and top petals. I know they are imperfections in the petals but I think I'd remove the ones on the right bottom two petals. I hope you post more of these!

Thanks for the thoughts...........I cleaned up the imperfections and the bugs. Brightened the center just a bit. Here is the view of the image before I added the softening texture. A bit more contrast, for sure. I flop between the two images...........

Anita, I took a look at the crop you suggested and am not so sure, looses some depth. Maybe others will chime in on it......I'm open to the idea.

Cheryl, thanks for the kind words.......I got sidetracked for a while, and it's nice to be back posting.

Jay, I'm like you...I go back and forth between the two...have you tried putting the original version as a layer on top of the newer version playing with the opacity? Or a blend mode? To my eye, it may be somewhere between the two...I like the dream-like quality of the first, with perhaps a subtle application of the increased contrast in the second...

Jay, I think I like the OP better although I like the petal clean-up. How about just lightening the center of the first one a tad with lighting effects of some sort or Viveza?

Cheryl, yes. Will be working on it tonight.

All good feedback everyone, thanks.

Jay, I like both versions. It took me a little while to adjust to a flower -- especially one that I think of so differently -- being presented like this. However, I like the drama, and your processing is very effective. As for the composition, you've nailed it in my opinion. I wouldn't change it, at all. Right now, it's nearly a golden rectangle. Both horizontally and vertically, the elements are nicely placed in terms of divine proportions. Cropping from the bottom would eliminate not only the golden rectangle but that very effective dark shading that's now at the bottom.

I agree with Cheryl's second comment. I like the OP better, with the subtle softening texture. Just brightening up the center yellow area a bit. Now, I'm going to look up the "golden rectangle" to learn a bit more about composition. Looking forward to more of these, if you have them.

Jay, I like both versions with a slight preference for the repost. Very nice composition and it is nice to see you posting again.

Hi Jay....I like the soft light and color as well as the diagonal composition. The tiny bit of sharpness on those hairs are set off nicely by the surrounding softness. Nice work!