Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

January 2025 - Homage to Mother Nature

Original

About the Image(s)

This is from our trip to Andalucia last February when the almond trees were in blossom. At sunset, we strolled In an orchard on the slopes of Sierra Nevada, when I came across this whitewashed shed. An almond tree threw a shadow on the wall that looked like a pregnant woman holding up her arms full of pink blossoms. The other shadow is me crouching in the grass with the camera. At first, I tried to find an angle where my shadow would not show in the frame, but then I realized that it actually was part of the story. - Fuji X-T4, 55 mm, 1/80 s, f/22, ISO 160, handheld. In Affinity Photo, I selectively slightly sharpened the trunk of the tree, the blossoms and the tips of the grass and adjusted the Gamma level. I felt that the flowers did not show very well against the background, and tried to pick the color from a petal and adjust its saturation and lightness. I wonder if they are too bright pink now?

13 comments posted

Bob Benson

I like your concept. I did not see the pregnant woman until you pointed it out. You do have talent for finding interesting abstracts.
I think that making the shadows deeper might have more impact. I selected the subject (the tree) and added the foreground, and then the inverse. I then applied darkening to the inverse selection, as this had little impact on the wall but more so on the shadows. (and it also darkened the flowers, although I did not think they were too bight before.) See what you think. Posted: 01/06/2025 22:04:26

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you very much, Bob, your treatment did wonders! I am also so happy to learn this new trick that will be most useful. Posted: 01/07/2025 06:38:04

Terry Palmer

As Bob said, you seem to find interesting subjects. I like Bob's processing. In addition to his comments, I think it reduces the busyness / confusion in the leaves and flowers which was my first thought when I looked at your processed image. Posted: 01/06/2025 22:25:59

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thanks, Terry! I love Bob´s processing, too. I had the same concern about the mess of leaves and flowers as you did, but that got solved just beautifully! Posted: 01/07/2025 06:40:15

Mervyn Hurwitz

The bright pink color of the blossoms make this image for me. You are really so imaginative "seeing the pregnant woman" And adding your shadow is a nice touch. Posted: 01/08/2025 21:35:21

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Mervyn! I am so glad that you like it! Posted: 01/10/2025 13:39:57

Jose Cartas

After reading your explanation, I did see the "pregnant" woman in the shadow. I like the idea and how you carried it out. At least in my monitor, the flowers are too bright, so I would darken them a little. I'm not so sure about your shadow being part of the image. It adds something, but it also competes with the main subject. An alternative would be to crop from the left and keep only the tree and its shadow. Posted: 01/09/2025 23:33:41

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Jose! I have another version just like the one you suggested, and I like that story, too. - I think that Bob´s trick also helped the flowers. Posted: 01/10/2025 13:39:07

Tony Au Yeong

Great imagination. In most occasions I would try to avoid my own shadow being included in the image, though all rules can be broken to release our creativity. Personally I would darken the wall a bit because it stands out having too much highlight as compared to the rest of the image. Posted: 01/20/2025 16:22:02

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Tony! I will try and see the effect of darkening the wall a bit. I wanted to give enough contrast for the game of shadows, but I guess they would still be shown well enough. Posted: 01/20/2025 16:46:09

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Anges van der Logt

I like the simplicity of this image and the imagination used. Also the pink flowers add a lot to the interest. I think Bob's editing enhanced the image. Posted: 01/22/2025 04:44:22

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Agnes! I think that Bob's edits really made a difference, too! Posted: 01/22/2025 04:56:24

PID Digital Dialogue

Group 26