Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

April 2026 - Aging

Original

About the Image(s)

I have been playing with tulips lately, for our photo club?s April theme ”Change”. Here is ”Aging” that I originally thought would be in color, but I found that I absolutely hated that ugly dull yellow and the sickly brownish magenta in the old tulip?s petals that seemed to rip away all her dignity. I think that in B&W it is easier to see the character and beauty of her expressive petals and leaves. Her time of standing straight and vibrant in a silver vase may be over, but she becomes more and more interesting every day, Fuji X-T4, 59.9 mm, f/4.5, 1/80 s, ISO 400. I turned the image into B&W in Capture One, and used one of the NIK Silver Efex Classic Portrait presets with low contrast and added grain as starting point for the finish. I added some contrast locally to the flower. What do you think?

6 comments posted

Ed Ford

Hi Kirst,

I like this image - the clarity of the tulip in front and the bokeh of the plants in the background. In the past I would have blackened the background highlighting the flower in front. However I do like how you have processed the image.

A very nice image, thank you for sharing with us. Posted: 04/12/2026 22:05:50

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Ed! I worried about the lack of contrast but when I tried to increase it, the image seemed to lose the nostalgic mood. I am glad if it works. Posted: 04/13/2026 05:18:05

Steve Cole

Nice monochrome of beautiful color capture. Good detail on the flower petal against a background of out of focus. All with a bit of grain too ... Good job. Posted: 04/13/2026 00:22:21

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you, Steve! I tested a variety of grain. This sort looked best to me and seemed to fit the mood - and I think that it does not hurt either that it may somewhat disguise what is lacking in sharpness? Posted: 04/13/2026 05:25:41

Robert Cordivari

This is a really nice image, Kirsti! The original looks like it could be a watercolor. The monotone works very well also. Funny, I can't help seeing a praying mantis staring at me when I look at it!
I like the placement of the subject against the out of focus background. And I understand how you chose to show more beauty in the dying flower by keeping it monotone. Very well thought out, as always! Posted: 04/17/2026 00:25:26

Kirsti Näntö-Salonen

Thank you so much, Robert! I can see the praying mantis now, too! It adds Yes another level to the image! Posted: 04/18/2026 05:57:32

PID Digital Dialogue

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