Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA  


American Lotus by Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA

September 2020 - American Lotus

September 2020 - Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA

Original

About the Image(s)

I went out to photograph birds and butterflies which completely eluded me. However, I was lucky enough to find a patch of American Lotus not far off the road. Since it was not my intended subject I had to shoot with what I had: Canon 5DMIV, Canon 100-400mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter. Settings were: ISO 100; f/8; 1/400sec. The higher shutter speed was needed to counteract for the swaying of flowers in a gentle breeze.
In post I did the usual b&w points, contrast and clarity in LR, removed brown spots from the petals in PS, applied Tonal Contrast,Polarization and Reflector Effects in Color Efex Pro4. I finished in Topaz Studio but do not recall which of the "looks" I chose. The final step was Topaz AI Clear for sharpening and noise reduction.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
10 comments posted




Jamie Federick   Jamie Federick
(Group 48)
This is outstanding Sharon. Never have seen the core of the flower that looks like that. So sharp and clear! Love the background too! A+ to you my friend!   Posted: 09/05/2020 17:56:58
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
Thanks Jamie. You are probably used to seeing water lilies around here. The lotus flower is on a stem above the water and is much larger. It has that seed pot in the middle that is different from the water lily. These were growing at Holla Bend near Dardenelle.   Posted: 09/05/2020 21:09:52



Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
Ditto what Jamie said. Wonderful shot and I think you did it justice in post. My only nitpick is your watermark, which commands a little too much attention for my taste and the closeness to the border creates a little tension which, I think, attracts more attention. I'd nudge it over to the right, make it a tiny bit smaller and reduce the opacity. Great job!   Posted: 09/06/2020 12:57:53



Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
I forgot to add something I saw on a Topaz tutorial that the results turn out better when noise and sharpening are applied first. I haven't tested the theory but I thought I'd pass it along.   Posted: 09/06/2020 12:59:02
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
I have recently started applying Topaz AI deNoise right after I download and set what and black points and I do believe that the results are much better.   Posted: 09/06/2020 16:03:03



Ally Green   Ally Green
An unusual flower with its yellow core..looks like an icecream!
Great capture with the eye for detail and amazing focus. I like how you made it 'pop' in post...Agree with Mike on his 2 thoughts...Signature slightly does detract from this wonderful so smaller to me would be good. And i also use Topaz AI deNoise at the beginning of my post processing and seems to work for me.   Posted: 09/09/2020 14:10:59



Pamela Hoaglund   Pamela Hoaglund
A beautiful flower (lotus). When you don't find what you go after you just have to shift gears and you did a great job. For not being focus stacked it is amazingly shape from front to back. I like how you softened the background and the green really makes the yellow flower stand out. When I use AI DeNoise I do it at the beginning also. I agree with the others on the watermark.   Posted: 09/09/2020 22:03:14
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
Thanks, Pam. I have been more often using a long zoom lens to photograph flowers because I lke the bokeh it produces. In this case I was also helped by the fact that the background (which is water) was far back from the subject. As opposed to Water Lilies which grow on lily pads, the Water Lotus tends to be on a long stem, well above the water level.   Posted: 09/13/2020 10:11:06



 
I am quite impressed with your background. It is perfectly blurred in a natural way. Of course, your flower is sharp and has good lighting. I like the shadows on the leaves. The pistons are wonderful and draw my attention. I find Mike's comment about your signature to be interesting and agree with it.   Posted: 09/10/2020 07:51:40



Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Wonderful museum-worthy image. The muted and mottled background allows the subject to pop, yet it is also interesting. The colors are warm and pleasing. The uniform sharpness and the shadows bring the image to life. The clarity and color of the pistil and stamens are remarkable. The eyes are immediately drawn to the center, and then the faint yellow reflections draw the eyes centriffically up the petals. I would not change a thing.   Posted: 09/19/2020 08:57:58