Water Lily

Gallery: FloraPosted February 13, 2011164 views22 comments

Shot this a while back, I think I even posted it, but I was never satisfied with the processing. This seemingly simple shot was a real bugger to process. Exposure was fine, but the color was off - had way too much blue in the white areas. Six processings later, I think I have it. At least, I don't intend to do a seventh attempt!

Shot at St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge south of Tallahassee, FL.

Larger version available for better detail.

D2X w/ 70-200 VR @ 140mm
1/250 @ f/8 (Windy day!) - MLU & mc-30 remote release
100 ISO
No filters
Tripod
Capture One 6, CS4, TK's Saturation & Sharpening actions

Critiques, suggestions, and comments always welcomed and greatly appreciated. Thanks for looking and sharing.

Comments

22 comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on February 13, 2011 at 11:43 PM

Bill:
Before I read your commentary, I said to myself the white is perfectly white; so you got this right! Nice overall comp.

PS there are a few white spots on the black bg in the RLC

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

Comment posted by Bill Fach on February 13, 2011 at 11:53 PM

Bill: Looks like a tape measure home run to me. Wonderful subject superbly presented. >=))>

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

Comment posted by Mark Windom on February 14, 2011 at 12:00 AM

On my monitor the whites look like they have a slight pinkish/blue tint but if you hadn't mentioned that they should be white I never would have paid it any attention. I can't imagine a more perfect example of a water lily. In terms of processing, the lily appears to be lit by sunlight....how did you get the surrounding BG to be so black??? Sure works well.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 176 Posts, 2302 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Duff on February 14, 2011 at 6:47 AM

Your perseverance has paid off Bill. The whites look great to me.

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

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on February 14, 2011 at 7:08 AM

Lovely, elegant presentation of a strikingly beautiful waterlily. Congrats!

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on February 14, 2011 at 8:03 AM

Gorgeous. Great presentation. Love the white on black.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on February 14, 2011 at 8:18 AM

Thanks all for your comments.

Mark - this was taken at St. Mark's Wildlife Refuge. The water was fairly dark to begin with, plus closing down the aperture a couple of stops to prevent blowing out the whites made it even darker.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Derek Yow on February 14, 2011 at 9:03 AM

Love this take on a beautiful flower. Great job holding the whites, coupled with that clean dark BG!

Registered on May 18, 2010, 26 Posts, 655 Comments

Comment posted by Larry Lynch on February 14, 2011 at 9:47 AM

I think you nailed it this time. Beautifully crafted and presented.

Registered on September 16, 2006, 773 Posts, 9940 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 14, 2011 at 10:08 AM

That is a great glowing beauty. Wonderful work, especially on the whites and yellow. And the dark background really makes it pop.

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

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on February 14, 2011 at 11:15 AM

Bill, I think you've done a great job both shooting and processing. The lily looks as though it's floating against a black velvet drop. Yes, there's a hint of blues and purples in the white but I think that's a function of shooting a couple of stops under.

Well done.

Cheers,

Carol

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

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on February 14, 2011 at 2:43 PM

Looks kinda blue to me Bill. Ha! Just kidding -- no seventh processing needed.
Blooms on black water are one of my favorite subjects, and you treated this one well.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments

Comment posted by Walt Sterneman on February 14, 2011 at 3:31 PM

Great detail Bill. Amazed that it took so much to get the whites correct, but it looks good now.

Registered on March 24, 2010, 73 Posts, 1268 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on February 14, 2011 at 5:19 PM

Viewing on my monitor, I would say that you have it too, Bill!
Good everything--colors, DOF, and BG.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on February 14, 2011 at 6:13 PM

Love the whites Bill. Superb work in all respects.

pat

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

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on February 14, 2011 at 11:05 PM

Hi Bill

I dont think you can get better results than this one gives

Spectacular light, detail and color

Albert Darmo. Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Krunal Janani on February 15, 2011 at 9:08 AM

Very good POV Bill the exposure to looks spot on

Registered on September 16, 2010, 60 Posts, 1370 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on February 15, 2011 at 10:08 AM

I think I saw this on your website and thought it would be a great photo for the flora forum. Glad you posted it, as it is a fine water lily shot

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on February 15, 2011 at 3:19 PM

What a beautiful, elegant image, Bill. You must be very glad for this result.
Cheers.

Registered on February 3, 2007, 827 Posts, 5052 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on February 15, 2011 at 8:00 PM

So beautiful, wonderful work Bill!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on February 17, 2011 at 8:31 PM

Not the tiniest nit from me - just gorgeous!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Adams on February 18, 2011 at 7:55 AM

Simply......elegant! And the presentation is wonderful too. Print this BIG!

Registered on January 24, 2006, 119 Posts, 1871 Comments