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Glowing Pitcher
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Glowing Pitcher

by Mark Seaver

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted May 29, 2013217 views8 comments
Here's a close up look into the bloom of a Pitcher Plant, Sarracena sp. growing in my pond. This is a 33 shot stack deliberately stopped so that some of the deeper parts of the bloom remain soft. My idea was to emphasize the sense of flow in the front petals and use the soft backlight from a light overcast to reduce the contrast and let the color glow. The stacked image was post processed with TK's triple play and some luminosity painting. (5D3, 100mm macro L, 1/50s, f/10, iso 800, tripod and polarizer)

Comments

8 comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on May 29, 2013 at 6:11 PM
A spectacular array of colors, Mark. Excellent job processing this. The colors are dazzling in the bright light, but really well controlled. Gorgeous.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by William Gillis on May 29, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Superb image Mark. I like the color, comp.,detail and the thinking behind the processing resulting in a beautiful portrait. I like the idea of stopping the stacking to get the soft result in the deeper part of your image- something I had never thought of before and will try myself. Well done. :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast: :toast:

William Gillis
Registered on November 28, 2011, 17 Posts, 204 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Fach on May 30, 2013 at 12:29 AM
Mark: I like this better than the version you posted in Flora. I especially like the light play here and the tighter view. Well done.>=))>
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on May 30, 2013 at 3:18 AM
Remarkable textural detail from the stacking, Mark ! Fine composition, light and colour too - a very striking image.
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on May 30, 2013 at 8:20 PM
Mark:

Really excellent concept and execution. The color sings in this image and the varying sharpness and light give this an abstract quality. When I scroll up and just covered up the upper green portion, the abstraction of the image is enhanced; so if you are after an abstract image, you may want to consider a crop off the top. :toast:
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Yun Gao on May 30, 2013 at 10:53 PM
Mark, you really let the color glow. A wonderful image full of brightness and vivid color. Nicely done!
Registered on September 11, 2012, 267 Posts, 1621 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on May 31, 2013 at 10:08 AM
Gary, when I took this, I wanted to include that nice glowing arch at the top, but I just "tested" your suggestion and like that result also....hummm....
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Anne K. Rusk on June 1, 2013 at 10:40 AM
The stack looks excellent and I like your choice of depth. The top 2/3 is what really catches my eye; I am slightly distracted by the bright lower left corner line, but very slightly. I think it is difficult to showcase the flow of petals like this and you have done an excellent job of isolating these lines while preserving the color and interest. Very nicely done!
*After reading the comments I see a suggested crop off the top...I like that as well, but I like the inclusion of the green more b/c it shows of that top arch. It speaks to how strong the image is that there are multiple compositions within it!
Registered on October 10, 2010, 65 Posts, 904 Comments