Barbara Asacker  


Mum too. by Barbara Asacker

January 2021 - Mum too.

About the Image(s)

Equipment: Nikon D500; 90 mm macro lens; tripod

Settings: f/16; 1/20 second; ISO 4000

I shot this image near a window utilizing natural light. The ISO was mistakenly set to auto ISO and the result was a very high ISO. Other than the noise what do you think? Thank you..


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




Stuart Ord   Stuart Ord
Well first and foremost I'd say its a really nice study. The cropping intensifies the focus on the centre, and the yellow colour and detail there adds to the draw to my eye. Super!

As for the noise, yes, it is a bit noisy. All I've done in the attached was to take a screen shot, open it in Affinity Photo, apply the noise reduction filter at maximum settings, and this is the result. Denoising usually reduces the sharpness a bit, but I think it's done a good job of removing the noise at little cost to sharpness. Having had a tripod (I hope you had image stability turned off!), it's true you could have dropped the ISO, taken a longer exposure so long as the subject was still, which I think it was from your description. But whatever, it's still very pleasant in my view.   Posted: 01/06/2021 15:34:02
Comment Image
Barbara Asacker   Barbara Asacker
(Group 65)
Hi Stuart
Thank you for your suggestions. I agree denoising helped   Posted: 01/16/2021 15:32:28



Stuart Ord   Stuart Ord
By the way, all the best for 2021, everyone!   Posted: 01/06/2021 15:35:49



Carol Sheppard   Carol Sheppard
This image has immediate impact and appeal for me. I didn't find it noisy, but I did feel it was a little bit underexposed. If you have NIK Viveza, this is a perfect use of the brightness slider using control points for exacting placement. Your crop and the texture are perfect, and I think the brightening would bring out more of the texture on the petals and center. Great job!   Posted: 01/10/2021 15:56:52
Barbara Asacker   Barbara Asacker
(Group 65)
Thank you Carol.   Posted: 01/16/2021 15:39:50



Tom Pickering   Tom Pickering
(Groups 0 & 53)
Beautiful flower well captured! Whenever your shooting on a tripod, set your ISO as low as your camera will allow. For me, because of my shaky hands, it's rare for me to shoot without a tripod unless it's with my smartphone. In any case, I can't remember when I change my ISO from 200, the lowest on my main DSLR.

I passed your image through Topaz Denoise AI, then I cropped a tad off the bottom left, added a touch of clarity & vibrance, and finally boosted the yellows and darkened the lavenders with an HSL adjustment. What do you think?   Posted: 01/16/2021 14:29:53
Comment Image
Barbara Asacker   Barbara Asacker
(Group 65)
Hi Tom
Thank you. Removing the noise certainly helped. I have the Nik Collection I don't have Topaz.   Posted: 01/16/2021 15:39:25
Tom Pickering   Tom Pickering
(Groups 0 & 53)
NIK Denoise is what I used for years before I got Topaz Denoise AI. It typically does a great job.   Posted: 01/18/2021 00:18:14
Barbara Asacker   Barbara Asacker
(Group 65)
I usually do my post processing in Photoshop Elements and use Nik for preset filters. However, I now understand there are powerful tools in Nik that I can use. So I started to watch YouTube videos about Nik. I appreciate you taking time to improve my image.   Posted: 01/18/2021 08:26:08
Stuart Ord   Stuart Ord
Looking at the noise between all three, it seems to me that Affinity and Topaz have done similar jobs. Your addition of clarity has certainly enhanced the texture over both (I didn't try that. I was just looking to denoise it). I like the crop off the left to remove the different petal pattern, but that off the bottom.   Posted: 01/17/2021 02:28:54
Tom Pickering   Tom Pickering
(Groups 0 & 53)
I prefer to use the original ratio when I crop, which is why I also took some off the bottom. The centerof the flower is the focal point and what the eye is drawn to.   Posted: 01/18/2021 00:23:48
Barbara Asacker   Barbara Asacker
(Group 65)
Thank you for explaining your reason for cropping. Now it is clear to me.   Posted: 01/18/2021 08:13:29



Bev Caine   Bev Caine
(Groups 24 & 48 & 58)
Visiting from 48 & 80
This is a beautiful flower. Tom's adjustments just made it more beautiful. If you enjoy playing with flowers, try to see if you can arrange to see Marie Altenburg's webinar on working with textures on your flowers. Her work is beyond beautiful and after seeing the webinar I am hooked forever.   Posted: 01/27/2021 15:57:08