This is another of the peony images I made when trying to work on my other end of the aperture ring. Even at f10 I was branching out in unknown territory! I love the different tones of pink and the soft side lighting in this image.
Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
f10 @ 1/60th, ISO 100
Manual mode, sunny wb, pattern metering, handheld
No, Joseph, this is all natural. This bush was tucked beneath a tree in the botanical garden so part of it was in shade and part was in full sun...hence, the corner where the lighting is harsh. I could go back and soften that lighting up a bit but I did like the range of the soft to the harsh light at first glance.
Hey Jules,
Because or your posts I have been playing around with the mixed light and find I am more succesful with subdued light as it is easier to contol! I'd be pushing that 40D to ISO400 at least as you won't get too much noise in well let areas......becomes an issue in the shadow areas mostly. I'm with Fabs on the tone down attempt.....would make it stronger IMO.
Hey Jules,
I think the re-post does go in the right direction but tried something myself using it as a base. I may have gone too far:D....as sometimes I don't know when to stop.....but will offer this as the first in my tweaks....shadow highlights with shadow at 55/50/30 and highlights at 14/40/30. This really refined the edges and was the most significant change. Then about 9 levels and contrast layers.....in different areas. I also couldn't do much about the left over shadow areas in the left side and UL corner......crop took some out.....cloned/patched the rest. Yeah I went nuts (sometimes a little obsessive:eek:)......but decided to re-post anyway as this may give you an idea you may want to try!
I liked the first image a lot! Has a nice feel to it with the various shapes and shades. Liked the repost by Jules better. Like Roman's version best. Just lovely. I like the central petals with their twists and curves and different shades of pink. The more colorful center pulls my eye there. Croping out the left eliminates distracting elements. Very nice! (Sadly, I have so far failed in growing peonies.)