Backlit Dogwood

[Bob Miller]

I took this in my backyard last spring with my new D3s with late afternoon light. I then used color efex detail extractor and darken/lighten in processing.
1/250 sec at f11
ISO 3200
105 mm macro

[Dennis Bishop]

I like the composition, the depth of field, and the processing on the dogwood. The background colors, though, seem heavy for the subject. I toned the orange way down with Viveza, both lightened and desaturated the background, and slightly lightened the entire image for a different look.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Bob, the composition and lighting is beautiful. I like your version and also the version Dennis posted.

[Anita Bower]

Very nice work, Bob! What a delight to see a Dogwood flower on a cold winter day. I like that it is backlit, with that orange color at the top. The angle of the stem, the bokeh, the tips of the flower are all lovely. I like the OP and Dennis' version--they both work for me.

[Indranil Sircar]

Beautiful backlit composition, Bob. Both works me too... although my personal preference is the OP for its strong bg that makes the flower standout.

[Bob Miller]

Thanks for the comemts and suggestions.
Dennis...Although i will probably stick with my original vision...I thank you for showing me an alternative..

[gary ellwein]

The composition and back lighting work. The warmth of the original is welcomed in January.

[Judy Howle]

I love back-lighting on flowers and fall leaves and your dogwood blossom is very well done. It might benefit from lightening the whole image a few points but it's fine as is.

[Dave Woeller]

Yet another vote for the wonderful back-light. I too like both versions and would select one or the other more than likely on my mood at the time.

[Maureen Allen]

Beautiful image, Bob. I like Dennis' idea since the bright background is a little overwhelming. Dave is right of course, the choice really depends on the mood you're trying to convey.

[Kerry Perkins]

Bob, nice job with the back-lit flower! I can definitely see both versions being strong for different reasons. I like your original for the notion that the sunshine colors are coming from inside the flower, which I think is very cool. I can also see Dennis' repost version for the more subdued bg, but I probably wouldn't lighten the bottom half so much. Well done!

[Bob Miller]

Thanks everyone!