Moon flower with light painting in the rain

[Randy Stout]

I was just heading off to bed, and looked out the back door, and noticed a nice moon flower blossom, all beaded with water from the rain. So, at 11pm I drug out the gear and took a couple of shots.

D700 Sigma 180 at f/18 1/20s Gitzo handheld flashlight

Post: NX2 USM

Comments always appreciated. Moon flowers have to be one of the most elegant of flowers.

[Fabs Forns]

Nice whites and the rain drops add to the feel. Only wish the drops were sharper.

[Richard Lovison]

Randy,

I like the composition and the delicate nature of the subject. The whites seem well exposed. I love the translucent, glowing quality of the back of the flower leading to the green stem.

I only have a small problem with the lighter than background glow around the entire flower. Is this due to using the flashlight for additional light or is this another flower behind the first?

[Randy Stout]

Richard:

thanks for the comments. There were a few leaves in the background. They were quite faint, because the flashlight I was using is very directional, not much light spill, but I wanted to completely eliminate them.

I did a negative selection around the flower and then darkened the background. There is just a trace of less dark area near the flower, which I didn't notice when I posted. I was working at the office, and the room isn't quite dark enough.

Thanks for picking this up. I will do a little more tweaking.

Cheers

Randy

[Richard Lovison]

Randy,

I love my new monitor. :) I just checked in photoshop... the majority of your background is at zero though the RGB values in the glow average around 3 or 4 and go as high as 23. I can actually see the difference between 0 and 1. Eegads! :) And the glow extends up to 1 1/2 inches on the left (1680x1050 resolution).
Just for reference, my monitor is calibrated with a luminance of 140cd/m^2. I bet the majority of the glow wouldn't show in a print.

[david cramer]

Nice work with light painting, which can be loads of fun. I like the glow and texture in the white. Would suggest minor burning of the stamens to set them off better.

[Alfred Forns]

Agree with comments but its one fine image Love the use of light and feel of whites Big Congrats !!!

[Julie Kenward]

Well I must be odd (wo)man out but the whites aren't doing it for me. Could be my monitor but they feel too white - like I can't quite see the detail I wish was there. I love the stem and the edges of the bloom but the middle is leaving me flat. Not sure why...