Emil Davidzuk
May 2023 - Dogwood Blossoms
Original
About the Image(s)
I went out last week to shoot the Dogwoods that were in full blossom at a local park, it is the first time this year I have used my camera. I found a good subject with low hanging branches and took a few closeups with one I selected for my May shot.
Workflow: I used the PS CC BW adjustment layer to render the raw file into BW, Levels and brightness/Contrast adjustment layers, a square crop in LR Classic coupled with a horizontal flip to change the diagonal. A little touch up (burning) of the light spots.
Camera: Sony A7R5, 24-70mm f2.8 GM lens at 70mm, 1/2000 sec f2.8, ISO 100,0 EV
10 comments posted
Dogwood blossoms are one of my local signs of Spring. I think you captured the essence of the beautiful blossoms. Although the center of the flower doesn't appear to be tack sharp in the original, you managed to fix that in the monochrome image. You also brought out the texture in the petals. Additionally, flipping the photograph works well. Nicely done.
My only suggestion would be to leave a bit more room on the left side of the image. Since the leftmost blossom is facing outward, it feel slightly close to the edge. Posted: 05/02/2023 21:00:56
My only suggestion would be to leave a bit more room on the left side of the image. Since the leftmost blossom is facing outward, it feel slightly close to the edge. Posted: 05/02/2023 21:00:56
Pete
Thanks for your comments. I agree with you about adding a little canvas to the left side of frame. I will fix it today
Regards
Emil Posted: 05/04/2023 09:37:28
Thanks for your comments. I agree with you about adding a little canvas to the left side of frame. I will fix it today
Regards
Emil Posted: 05/04/2023 09:37:28
Emil, What a brilliant idea to flip the image. For me, it works much better. The choice of monochrome is great because it emphasizes the subtle texture of the petals. Nice job on the other adjustments. As Pete pointed out, the monochrome version looks sharper. Did you apply sharpening or is this just a side effect of other adjustments you made? Posted: 05/04/2023 20:12:25
Bunny
I used NIK's detail extractor on the color shot and then on the BW rendering above I used LR's adjustment brush with the sharpness, texture and clarity sliders
Emil Posted: 05/12/2023 12:03:33
I used NIK's detail extractor on the color shot and then on the BW rendering above I used LR's adjustment brush with the sharpness, texture and clarity sliders
Emil Posted: 05/12/2023 12:03:33
Hello Emil,
Spring is an excellent time of year. I was outside yesterday and photographed crab apple tree flowers in our pasture. The pollinators were also out on the flowers in the flower beds; such a joy to see spring again.
I like your dogwood photo with the three blooms, an excellent representation of spring. The petals have a pleasant texture, and each is at a unique angle, and my eye is interested in looking at the differences. I also like the flipped version.
In my edit, I offer a lighter rendition of these blooms. I used LR, converted the image to Monochrome, and then adjusted the basic panel. In Photoshop, I removed a couple of branches that did not seem to contribute to the stem and flowers. I tried sharpening and enlarging the file in Topaz, but my file copy is pretty small to give it a fair assessment.
Curious what you think.
lt Posted: 05/12/2023 08:38:04
Spring is an excellent time of year. I was outside yesterday and photographed crab apple tree flowers in our pasture. The pollinators were also out on the flowers in the flower beds; such a joy to see spring again.
I like your dogwood photo with the three blooms, an excellent representation of spring. The petals have a pleasant texture, and each is at a unique angle, and my eye is interested in looking at the differences. I also like the flipped version.
In my edit, I offer a lighter rendition of these blooms. I used LR, converted the image to Monochrome, and then adjusted the basic panel. In Photoshop, I removed a couple of branches that did not seem to contribute to the stem and flowers. I tried sharpening and enlarging the file in Topaz, but my file copy is pretty small to give it a fair assessment.
Curious what you think.
lt Posted: 05/12/2023 08:38:04
LuAnn
Your version is light and airy and the cleanup of misc branches is a good thing. It offers another way to process my Dogwood image and is well done
I looked at its LR histogram and it is comprised of mid-tones and highlights just as it appears in BW, I try to have me histogram go edge to edge (darks to lights) so I present the full range of tonality. I always use the Level adjustment layer in PS to achieve the edge to edge histogram. I think I should add a levels adjustment layer to your version, adjust the darks, and see where it ends up.
Regards
Emil Posted: 05/15/2023 13:29:50
Your version is light and airy and the cleanup of misc branches is a good thing. It offers another way to process my Dogwood image and is well done
I looked at its LR histogram and it is comprised of mid-tones and highlights just as it appears in BW, I try to have me histogram go edge to edge (darks to lights) so I present the full range of tonality. I always use the Level adjustment layer in PS to achieve the edge to edge histogram. I think I should add a levels adjustment layer to your version, adjust the darks, and see where it ends up.
Regards
Emil Posted: 05/15/2023 13:29:50
LuAnn
Your version is light and airy and the cleanup of misc branches is a good thing. It offers another way to process my Dogwood image and is well done
I looked at its LR histogram and it is comprised of mid-tones and highlights just as it appears in BW, I try to have me histogram go edge to edge (darks to lights) so I present the full range of tonality. I always use the Level adjustment layer in PS to achieve the edge to edge histogram. I think I should add a levels adjustment layer to your version, adjust the darks, and see where it ends up.
Here it is..
Regards
Emil Posted: 05/15/2023 13:29:57
Your version is light and airy and the cleanup of misc branches is a good thing. It offers another way to process my Dogwood image and is well done
I looked at its LR histogram and it is comprised of mid-tones and highlights just as it appears in BW, I try to have me histogram go edge to edge (darks to lights) so I present the full range of tonality. I always use the Level adjustment layer in PS to achieve the edge to edge histogram. I think I should add a levels adjustment layer to your version, adjust the darks, and see where it ends up.
Here it is..
Regards
Emil Posted: 05/15/2023 13:29:57
Hi Emil,
Great job and idea.
When I looked at your photo, I felt spring.
I liked the LuAnn edition, it gives the photo airiness and lightness of spring.
I decided to edit LuAnn's work a bit,
removed the branch from the left, the dark spot from the upper left corner and the petal from the upper right.
Your opinion?
All the best to you and your family.
Sincerely
Israel Posted: 05/12/2023 10:21:16
Great job and idea.
When I looked at your photo, I felt spring.
I liked the LuAnn edition, it gives the photo airiness and lightness of spring.
I decided to edit LuAnn's work a bit,
removed the branch from the left, the dark spot from the upper left corner and the petal from the upper right.
Your opinion?
All the best to you and your family.
Sincerely
Israel Posted: 05/12/2023 10:21:16
Emil, very nice image and you've proven the way to find, isolate from the background, and edit to make a beautiful image. Well composed. I like the lighter background like LuAnn's and Israels'. Definitely the flipped version. Posted: 05/17/2023 14:50:23
Emil, I do like the image lighted up a bit like LuAnn's edit but the additional modifications you made helped isolate the flowers from the background, which is a must to me. Overall, I like a bit darker background to create very strong separation. Posted: 05/23/2023 13:25:11