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Sunflowers à la Mode
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Sunflowers à la Mode

by Jim Zablotny

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted December 31, 2017110 views5 comments
Snow and bitter cold temps have hit Michigan and I thought that this one fits the first Weekly Challenge of the year.  The frost was an added bonus this morning as well.  I took 5 exposures and combined them with HDR Effex Pro 2 and bumped up the exposure to get the BG as light as possible. I also boosted up the shadows too.  I tweaked the details up with Topaz Detail, adjusted Brightness & Contrast, and tweaked up the midtone contrast with a Luminosity Mask.  Finally, I cropped the image and cleaned up a few stray spots in the BG. K5 IIs 180mm f3.5 (Iso 100, early morning light, exposures from 3.0 to 1/6 sec, f29).....................Jim

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Igor Doncov on December 31, 2017 at 10:00 PM
This is quite beautiful, Jim. Almost like an illustration from a botany book. I perceive a subtle blue here that works well with the plant. If so, you could push the blue just a tad more and how you like it. Great as is in it's simplicity and preciseness,
Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on January 1, 2018 at 1:43 PM
Cute photo, Jim, with excelelnt detail for the subject against the snow. I like the title as well. 
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Minish on January 1, 2018 at 6:14 PM
I like the snow cones and frost, Jim.  The composition is simple but effective and the exposure is just right, with plenty of  detail and texture in the white snow.
Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on January 1, 2018 at 8:20 PM
Jim, a very fine closeup take here with excellent detail, including the snow-cone toppings.....enlightened
Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 3, 2018 at 10:43 AM
When I proposed this challenge, I had no idea that it would be backed up by a major cold snap and snow.  Has me wondering....

The snow caps on these coneflower seed heads look good, Jim.  I like the subtlety of the snow caps almost fading into the background and the bits of frost clinging to the bare parts of the stems.  Interesting that you combined 5 exposures, because I was thinking that this was lacking a bit in "pop" due to reduced contrast.  The details do show very well.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments