Columbine (and Forget Me Nots)

[Dennis Bishop]

All the blues in the background are out-of-focus forget me nots. The brown is from a texture layer (or two???).

Nikon D3s, ISO 3200 (breezy morning), three exposure HDR at 1EV increments, f/8, 105mm macro lens

post-processing

• Photomatix tone mapping
• Adobe Camera Raw -- reduction of clipped highlights, Clarity, and tweaking of saturation and luminance in HSL
• Cropping -- mostly from the left but a little from the top, too
• Topaz Simplify -- preset based on BuzSim
• two Flypaper Texture textures (one with the brush strokes as well as color)
• a warm Joel Olives texture
• a low opacity masked layer of the Simplified columbine to remove much of the texture layers effects from the subject
• Nik Color Efex -- Darken/Lighten Center to lighten the subject and darken the edges
• clipped Hue/Saturation layer to reduce saturation of the greens in the subject
• a Joel Olives texture with a freeform feathered mask to exclude it from the subject and immediate surroundings
• Fractalius -- a b&w preset based on Sketch, Multiply blend mode, masked from some areas
• Alien Skin Snap Art -- b&w Stylize Line Art, Darker Color blend mode, masked from some areas
• a freeform feathered vignette

[Maureen Allen]

This is a lovely image, Dennis. I particularly like the hint of forget-me-nots in the background. I think if it were mine, I might tone down the browns in the vignette just a bit. Really nice work!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Beautiful image, Dennis. I especially like the lighting on the columbines and the textures you applied. The forget-me-nots in the LRC are a nice touch. A nice piece of art!

[Nancy Bell]

Very nicely done! Love the texture/brush strokes in the bkgd and the interplay of the blueish purples and greens. You have inspired me to check out the textures you mentioned and to play around.

[Indranil Sircar]

Lovely composition, Dennis. I like the simplicity yet thoughtful positioning of the elements. The canvas with the bg texture certainly adds a lot to the image. Your processing is as usual outstanding!

[Julie Kenward]

This is one of my favorite images of yours, Dennis...what a beauty! Looking at it I love the gentleness of the colors and textures. If you wanted to get a bit of a stronger look, a little burning/dodging on that front flower would make that area pop just a bit more and really pull the eye directly to it.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Dennis, love the treatment you gave to these columbines. They are such beautiful flowers...one of my favorites, but up here we only get the red ones 'Wild Columbine'...you are inspiring me to try something with some of them.

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . If you wanted to get a bit of a stronger look, a little burning/dodging on that front flower would make that area pop just a bit more and really pull the eye directly to it.

Thanks for your comments, Jules, and your suggestion. Based on what you said, I tried two different approaches. Because I already had a mask, I used a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer (both of them increased) and blackened out all but the main bloom. Even at a low opacity, it made the bloom stand out too much for me. Then, I tried the dodge and burn tools a couple times. The result was much better that way, but it was still a bit too much. I've noticed myself thinking when viewing some images done by others that it's not so much the subject that makes the difference. Instead it's the way everything in the frame works together. Maybe it's because of looking at it that way that I don't want the main element to be too much stronger than the rest of the image in this case.

[Bob Miller]

Hi Dennis......This is beautiful! One of my favorites! The textures you used are right on!

[denise ippolito]

Dennis, It is lovely! The hint of forget-me-nots are a perfect touch! I love the brush strokes!

[Brendan Dozier]

Very nice, artistic treatment, Dennis. The brush stroke texture really was a nice touch and adds to the painterly quality. Like your choice and combination of filters. The softness and subtle colors make for a pleasing tranquil composition.

[Judy Howle]

Wonderful colors and processing Dennis, and I love the textures you added! The composition with forget me nots in the background is perfect.