Judith Flacke
July 2026 - Another Calla Lily
About the Image(s)
One from the garden. I love these flowers and like the shape of this one. But does the fact the (pale yellow) sigma almost disappears in mono matter?
1/160 sec, iso200, f18. In my studio (garage) with flash. Olympus OMD EM5 III with 14-150 lens
4 comments posted
Judith - To me this is more of a fine-art image than botanical one - one reason I say that is because the mage is beautifully minimalist. The white calla lily against the deep black background immediately creates impact and elegance. There is nothing extraneous competing for attention.
The sweeping lines and the graceful of the lily creates a wonderful sense of movement. The eye naturally travels from the pointed tip on the left through the central spiral and down the stem. You've retained subtle texture throughout - the image has an almost sculptural feel and resembles a marble carving or a piece of modern abstract art more than a straightforward flower photograph - kudos.
The upper portion of the spathe approaches pure white in places. If there is any recoverable detail in the RAW file, pulling those highlights back slightly could reveal even more texture - or it's a PSA resolution issue, I can't tell.
Also, the droplets along the top edge are a two-edged sword - a) it's a very nice touch but b) they interrupt the sculptural simplicity of the flower that's the image's strong suit. If entered into competition, I think it's great as is, but some judges might ding it for that.
The stem fades into the darkness and making the image feel somewhat incomplete. Cropping it slightly shorter or allowing just a bit more tonal separation from the background would strengthen the presentation. Lastly, good call on the stroke - it separates whereas in many cases strokes overpower - I don't know how many pixels it is but it works beautifully here. Nice job on this
Posted: 07/02/2026 23:04:08
The sweeping lines and the graceful of the lily creates a wonderful sense of movement. The eye naturally travels from the pointed tip on the left through the central spiral and down the stem. You've retained subtle texture throughout - the image has an almost sculptural feel and resembles a marble carving or a piece of modern abstract art more than a straightforward flower photograph - kudos.
The upper portion of the spathe approaches pure white in places. If there is any recoverable detail in the RAW file, pulling those highlights back slightly could reveal even more texture - or it's a PSA resolution issue, I can't tell.
Also, the droplets along the top edge are a two-edged sword - a) it's a very nice touch but b) they interrupt the sculptural simplicity of the flower that's the image's strong suit. If entered into competition, I think it's great as is, but some judges might ding it for that.
The stem fades into the darkness and making the image feel somewhat incomplete. Cropping it slightly shorter or allowing just a bit more tonal separation from the background would strengthen the presentation. Lastly, good call on the stroke - it separates whereas in many cases strokes overpower - I don't know how many pixels it is but it works beautifully here. Nice job on this
Posted: 07/02/2026 23:04:08
Thanks Butch. I will have another play! :) Posted: 07/03/2026 07:34:22
I really like the image. You handled the exposure of the white perfectly -- the is still detail in it. As Butch pointed out, the white against the black is very striking.
I made 3 changes, first I reversed the image to put the stem on the left side, then I cropped off the left side back to the stem, and thirdly I added a touch to the top to give the lily more room. Posted: 07/03/2026 19:09:42
I made 3 changes, first I reversed the image to put the stem on the left side, then I cropped off the left side back to the stem, and thirdly I added a touch to the top to give the lily more room. Posted: 07/03/2026 19:09:42
The white flower against the black background is striking and creates impact. The water droplets at the top add 'something' to the overall image. What about a slight sharpening just to enhance the texture? Posted: 07/06/2026 15:11:39