Two Days

Gallery: FloraPosted September 10, 201051 views13 comments

Well, it's been two days since posting my last Dahlia, so here's another. Went out shooting yesterday with my local NPN Flora Guru Ned Fenimore. He had a new Dhalia farm tucked away in his back pocket and we spent 5 hours under a gorgeous overcast sky with light rain that brought out the colors.

With this closeup, I was aiming for something that was both elegant and dreamy, only you can decide it it fits that criteria. The raw image was processed in LR, plus NIK's Dfine 2.0 and ColorEfex Pro (vignette blur.)

Thanks for your thoughts and comments, Larger version available

canon 7D
canon 100mm macro f2.8L IS USM, live mode & manual focus
F/8. -1.5 1/15 ISO 640
tripod, macro lens support ring, cable release

Comments

13 comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on September 10, 2010 at 11:43 PM

Very nice

- Nice focus on the center and I quite like that vignette (or is it called the opposite of Vignette?).

No suggestions from me

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on September 10, 2010 at 11:48 PM

I like this too Craig especially in the larger version. I think your white vignette worked very well here. Beautiful image. No suggestions.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on September 11, 2010 at 12:43 AM

Craig: The best of your dahlia shots by far IMO. Ned is the dahlia master so you're hanging out in really good company. I do like the vignette. With this centered comp I might corp to 5:4 from both sides and make sure to make the little bit of BG in the ULC go away. Superb shot. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on September 11, 2010 at 4:55 AM

Very, very nice shot, Craig. Beautiful composition color and DOF.
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Duff on September 11, 2010 at 6:37 AM

Well Craig, mission accomplished. Finely crafted image. The only suggestion would be to clone/fix the bg creeping in the ULC.

Registered on April 21, 2010, 160 Posts, 1675 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on September 11, 2010 at 7:26 AM

Craig:
Top notch! One of your best dahlias for sure. Love the dreamy look and the white vignette. Agree with Bill about removing the lit bit of bg from the LUC.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on September 11, 2010 at 8:53 AM

Thanks everyone for your comments, here is a version with the bit of BG in the ULC cloned out.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on September 11, 2010 at 5:54 PM

Definitely elegant, Craig. I'm not family with the Dfine and ColorEfex. Is that what is causing the very satiny appearance of the center of the flower?

I would certainly take the time to remove the green from the upper LC. I think it's a bit distracting.

Lovely image.

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on September 11, 2010 at 10:43 PM

Very beautiful color and I like the white vignette for a different look. Very well done!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Ned Fenimore on September 12, 2010 at 12:49 AM

Really nice one, Craig.. I may have found another tucked away garden as well, (dahlias) here in Vancouver. I'll let you know how it pans out...

Registered on November 1, 2003, 467 Posts, 2803 Comments

Comment posted by Brigitte Lorenz on September 12, 2010 at 6:47 AM

wonderful work, Craig....the vignette works really perfect here....

Brigitte

Registered on January 10, 2009, 187 Posts, 1507 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on September 13, 2010 at 1:21 PM

Beautiful image Craig.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Debashis Bandyopad on September 14, 2010 at 10:45 AM

Most beautiful Craig... The vignette works nicely and the repost is a sure winner

Registered on June 24, 2007, 130 Posts, 1309 Comments