Rosescape I

[John Storjohann]

I have to preface this by saying I am normally not a big fan of rose images - even my own! - simply because I find that they have been shot so often as floral subjects that images can tend to be a cliche. Then again...that's the challenge of shooting a rose! So...I spent an hour or so this morning working a few roses...looking forward to comments and suggestions. Shot with a 180mm lens, f/22@1/30. Processed the RAW image in LR; used NIK ColorEfex to create a bit of a soft glow...and that's about it. A slight curve adjustment for tone and color.

[Nancy Bell]

The combination of pale tones, the glow and the spiraling edges look luxurious. One could just sink into those gentle folds.

[Cheryl Slechta]

John, I love the soft feel to this and the luminous quality makes it glow. I might prefer a tighter crop from the bottom but you would lose one of the spirals so I'm not sure.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi John, this is very nice. Love the whites. If it were mine I would crop from the bottom to just above the lowest most petal, but that's just me

[Maureen Allen]

Lovely image, John. The soft glow is beautiful. I agree with the suggestions above to crop a bit from the lower edge.

[John Storjohann]

Thank you for your responses...I am posting an edit per the suggestions..to be honest, not sure if I like it more or not...I like the "length" of the original...but I do see the merit of removing the lower petal...have to mull this one over!

[John Storjohann]

And...for the Fractalius fans out there...a slight edit of the edit...

[denise ippolito]

John,
I like the soft color tones and the processing. The repost looks good and so does the fractalius. I too like the length in the original.

[John Storjohann]

Thank you, Denise. You should head to St. Louis at some point...the Missouri Botanical Gardens are stunning...the lotus should be coming up in about 7 or 8 weeks...one of my favorite flowers to photograph.

[denise ippolito]

John, I bet it is an amazing place. I love Lotus too!

[Dennis Bishop]

Before seeing the comments and re-posts, I took a long look at alternate compositions and decided I'd stick with the original if it were mine. I still feel that way. The Fractalius look is a nice alternative even though I like the softer feel without it. The curves and tones are very nice. In this case, another rose image is a good thing.

[Mark Fuge]

Nice image and application, John.

I agree with Dennis. I like the original over the reposts. I think the bottom adds to the image. But that is just one voice in the crowd.

[Indranil Sircar]

John, I too like the original... wonderful soft colors!

[Paul Lagasi]

Another vote for original...I am late to this party but very nice work....TFS

[John Storjohann]

Thank you for the comments...I have to agree, I like the original the best, but I may go back to the drawing board with Fractalius at some point as well...a different blend mode, something...there is an element to that filtering I like, but it overpowers the image in its current form. Live and learn! Thanks again for your comments and suggestions.

[Cynthia Thayer]

I love the softness and creamy colors. In my opinion, it's a tough subject to crop. I might revisit the subject and try a different angle of shooting, maybe incorporating more of the blossom. Overall, I really like this one. Then again, i LOVE roses, but the point being I think you did very nicely on this one. My suggestion is only food for thought. :)

[John Storjohann]

Thank you, Cynthia...food for thought is a good thing! Don't think I can revisit this rose though...it's fading away quickly. Maybe the next batch of blooms!