Shot early yesterday morning at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, about 7:10 am under a very cloudy sky. 320mm, f/32@1/8. Processed the RAW file in LR; cropped some from the top, boosted clarity and vibrance a bit. Brought the image into PS, touched up some specular highlights from some debris bits on the water, did a little work with Viveza for selective toning. The plants themselves are amazing; the lily pads can grow to be several feet across and can support the weight of a child. The blooms are very large, and both the unopened blooms and the underside of the pads are densely covered with large thorns, creating a contrast between a simple beauty and a strong survival sense. I may process this further and try it OOB as well...looking forward to your thoughts.
Hi John. This is a pretty amazing plant - those thorns are very impressive! Very nice sharpness for f/32 @ 1/8. I like the soft light and the perfect reflections as well as the bit of color and detail in the water. I'm also liking the comp. I'm not as fond of the straight stem(?) just above the pad and the shorter one just to the left of the pad. In my view, these elements are detracting from a very strong image and you might consider removing them. Otherwise, this is very well done.
hi John, Amazing how we came up with completely different things last Sat. Another piece of stellar post processing. I do agree with Steve on evicting the two stems. I think it presents a different view. Give it a try and see if it works for you......
John...I don't mind the stems they lend some depth to the image and w/o them the bud would just seem to float in blackness.....just my 2cents! Beautiful image as usual!
Thank you for the comments and suggestions. I evicted the two stems...still debating on whether or not to keep the image with them or without them. I also rotated 2.5 degrees CW...see what you think. Thanks again!
Hi John, What a plant!... and beautifully presented... firstly your IQ at f32and f1.8 is superb... love the dark water which brings out that beautiful softs colours and detail... do agree with the guys about the stems... so I do prefer the second post... but would remove the piece on the RHS flower as it draws my eye to the right all the time... otherwise good comp and hope to see one with a flower in bloom... TFS and VWD!
Hi John,
The repost w/o the stems if my favorite. I see some repetition from the clone work. Easy to fix. Other than that I think the exp. detail & comp are great and make it a very strong image for me. Very nice, John!
Thank you Susan...I'm somewhat ashamed that I didn't catch that myself...but I went back in and took a good look and darned if they weren't there! Thank you for catching that...and corrected, I hope!
Giant Amazon Water Lily
Reply With Quote
Otherwise, this is very well done.
... and beautifully presented... firstly your IQ at f32and f1.8 is superb... love the dark water which brings out that beautiful softs colours and detail... do agree with the guys about the stems... so I do prefer the second post... but would remove the piece on the RHS flower as it draws my eye to the right all the time... otherwise good comp and hope to see one with a flower in bloom... TFS and VWD!
