BACKLIT WEED-THEME

[gary ellwein]

While out shooting birds, I ran across this backlit weed. Knowing chiaroscuro was an up coming theme, I captured the image with a 600mm lens which provides a narrow angle of view and shallow depth of field. I apologize for being unable to remember what I did processing the image. Topaz Simplify and Fractalius were involved.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Gary, you chose a good subject and lighting for the theme, good eye there. My first thought was that it would be easy to drop the background out using a levels adjustment layer. It also feels a bit busy with the foliage on the left and I wondered what it would look like with a couple of tweaks... I hate wondering, so I had a go at it. Hope you don't mind. I lowered the blacks and mid-tones in a levels layer, then cloned away the stem and bud on the left, then used content-aware move to move the remaining grouping over to the left a bit.

[Dennis Bishop]

I really like this, Gary. The foreground stands out very nicely, and I like the out-of-focus background. The subject -- not just the seed head, but the rest of the plants, too -- is great with the backlighting. Big thumbs up for the Fractalius effect on the seed head. I think the plant on the left enhances the flow within the image.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I like the Frac which has enhanced the lighting on the edges. I used selective colour and added blacks to the black which kept more texture in the seed head. I also felt the plant on the left was a little tall and competed with the other subjects. Well seen for the theme.

[Anita Bower]

I love the backlighting here! I love how it outlines the leaves, stems, etc. Very nice. I wish I could see this file in better resolution to appreciate the details and sharpness of the seed head. I like the Op; I think the vegetation on the left balances the image nicely. I also like the dark green bg. Well seen and captured.

[Anita Bower]

Congratulations.