Magnolia bloom

[Brendan Dozier]

Took this a few days ago. Liked the morning light and interesting stigma & stamen structure poking through the petals. Cropped and cloned out a few distracting areas around petals, brought BG levels to black. Added structure, contrast, saturation using NIK Viveza, some NIK Color EFEX including Detail Extractor, Tonal Contrast, Pro Contrast, Soft Focus, & Warmth /Brilliance. Bit of Topaz Details soft look & fine detail and some smart sharpening. Then tried to add some more drama to lighting using curves adjustment.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Brendan, this is an interesting perspective. I think magnolias are very difficult to photograph. I like the sharpness of the stigma and stamens but I'm not sure about the grain or noise on the rest of the petals. Also, maybe a crop from the right - the black space between the petals in the UR is a little distracting to me (but that's probably just me - I've got a magnolia image that I've cropped about 50 times and still can't get it right)

[Nancy Bell]

I really like the detail and colors of the inside structure, and that deep red base that bleeds just a bit into the petals. I agree with Cheryl about the grain on the petals. Maybe they could be softer and smoother looking.

[John Storjohann]

Cheryl made a very detailed analysis of the image...strong composition of a difficult subject, yet the black areas in some ways detract..drawing your eye to them...but I could go either way as they also add some interesting lines. The grain/noise is the biggest drawback to the image...yet given the amount of processing done, it may have been inevitable. Tough subject, and you did a good job of handling it.

[PhilCook]

Exquisite ! love the perspective on this one with the stamen running diagonally through the frame, and such amazing fine detail. I do see some noise on the inner side of the petals, but I dont feel it matters as it tends to work in with the finer natural texture on the outer petal sides. I dont think I've ever seen a more eye catching image of a magnolia before, very creative

[Brendan Dozier]

Thanks folks for your comments, much appreciated. Totally agree with you Cheryl regarding the challenge photographing magnolias. The flowers are so broad and deep. Experimented with many crops and wasn't 100% on this one either. Though I kind of like the overall comp, I agree with everyone else about the grain on the petals detracting. I think it is worth reworking, and maybe adding some texture to add interest and mood.

[denise ippolito]

Brendan, I like your choice of crop, if it were mine I would take some of the bottom to eliminate the triangle in the LRC. I feel that this composition is dramatic and adds some flair to the type of flower. I do wish that the lighting were even and more dramatic. Agree about the grain. I am looking forward to more of these beauties!

[Anita Bower]

The light, colors and curves are gorgeous! The diagonal composition is strong. I like how the petals protect and frame the center. I think that running noise reduction on the petals and leaving the yellow and red areas as they are would solve the noise problem and also make that front left petal look more like the rest. A bit of a crop from bottom and right would balance the image a bit better for me. Very nice work!