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Thread: Three Zinnias

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    Default Three Zinnias

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    I cut these zinnias and arranged them for the dinning room table. Later, I noticed they had shifted position turning towards the light, creating this lovely arrangement.

    I used natural light and a BG of scrapbooking paper.

    Crop, rotate, clean (clone out spots), high pass filter, Efex Pro > Duplex, even out BG with brush tool, bring some green into leaves, slight saturation.

    Comments please, including constructive critique.

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    BPN Member Cheryl Slechta's Avatar
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    Anita, I love the slightly desaturated look and the composition with the outer zinnias bending toward and framing the center one. I'm glad you're posting again - we've missed you
    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince

    http://tuscawillaphotographycherylslechta.zenfolio.com/

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    Anita, you did a wonderful job with the processing...I like the composition, especially the curve of the left bloom back toward the center, the softly aged pastel coloring...if it were mine, I'd be tempted to tone down some of the hotspots on the leaf center bottom, right at or near the lower border...and maybe darken the leaves on the left hand bloom, just to bring them a little more in line with the others..and then tone down the one hot spot on the upper most leaf. It's your vision..but as I viewed this, I thought how wonderful it would look with a textured background...something that gave subtle texture and very subtle earth tones to the background...darkening the BG just a bit and adding a bit of depth. I'm just thinking out loud..I really like the image and effect...very nicely done!

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    HI Anita.....I really like this. It has a unique look. I agree with john about toning down the hot spots and overlaying a texture

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    Anita, I love the curved stems and the composition. John makes a good suggestion regarding the highlights. I might tone down the lines in the BG that are just below the pink Zinnia if it were mine. Very nice!

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    I love this one, Anita. If it were mine, I'd be tempted to play around with some textures.

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    BPN Member Kerry Perkins's Avatar
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    Anita, I always love it when an image solicits so much discussion and interest. What really makes this image special to me is the way the stems all have different paths and angles, but are all reaching for the light - a common goal. My take on the possibilities is that I would love to see a bit more saturation and maybe some edge enhancement plus a nice texture or two... So many possibilities! Very nice.
    "It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson

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    Some excellent suggestions already, and of course I would vote for some texture but personal preferences aside, I love the softness and aged look of this image. The flowers really lend themselves to this processing and I could imagine it hanging on a wall with a selection of similar toned flowers.

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    Brendan Dozier
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    Anita, this reminds of the plant & flower illustrations my mom used to have hanging in our house growing up. Nicely composed and like how you have processed this. Good suggestions above as well.

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    THANK YOU ALL for your comments and suggestions! Very much appreciated!

    I tried to fill in the burned out areas. Lesson: do that BEFORE doing anything else in post processing so it will look more natural.
    I added textures by Kim Klassen and Shadowhouse Creations. Another High Pass. A few other tweaks.

    What do you all think?

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    Beautiful, I love it.

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    Every one has interesting suggestions and possibilities. I love the OP. It is delicate and romantic.

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    Very nice image and application, Anita.

    I would vote for the first one of these. It's more your style and very nicely done.

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    Totally different and still lovely!

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    BPN Member Christopher Miller's Avatar
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    Beautiful image, Anita. My first thought upon looking at this was that it could use some texture(you knew I was going to say that ), but I think I would prefer a lighter, more desaturated texture so that the image retains the light colors and tones of the OP. I love the flower arrangement.
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    Thank you Christopher, Denise, Mark, Nancy, Hillary for your comments. I think I can get several versions out of this image. I'm going to try to create one like the OP, but correcting a few defects, but also use the second post. I have a third version in the works.

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    Hi Anita...late to the party on the repost, but I really like it...the texture adds so much dimension...and you did a nice job filling in the hot spots. You're right..this image has SO many possibilities...my only comment on the repost would be to possibly do a curve on it to lighten it up about a stop or so...bring back a little bit of that delicate, romantic, light airiness of the original....other than that....all I can say is that I can't wait to see more!

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    Quote Originally Posted by John Storjohann View Post
    Hi Anita...late to the party on the repost, but I really like it...the texture adds so much dimension...and you did a nice job filling in the hot spots. You're right..this image has SO many possibilities...my only comment on the repost would be to possibly do a curve on it to lighten it up about a stop or so...bring back a little bit of that delicate, romantic, light airiness of the original....other than that....all I can say is that I can't wait to see more!
    Thanks!!

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