Dahlia Mono

Just playing with some flowers we were given over the weekend.....
K5, 100mm D FA Macro. Redsnapper + ballhead.
10 secs. @ f14. ISO100. Remote F, mirror-up.
Daylight.
Elements 11.






Thanks for looking, any thoughts welcome.

Roger.

Its very effective .... Unusual how the contrast increases into the centre, but that pulls the eye in a very good way!

I'd be interested to see a version, or another shot of it, but not so high key .... its very white indeed and it would be interesting to see the outer parts with less exposure and a little more contrast.

Thanks for your time & thoughts, Nigel.
The "very white indeed"-ness around the border of the image is deliberate.
I was aiming for the image to become lighter from the centre & merge / disappear into the background light.
When I get a mo, I'll tone one down for you Nigel & we'll see the effect of both.....

Roger.

Ok, that should be an interesting comparison, I'll look out for it when you get a chance.

Thats a very interesting effect... I'd be interested in how this is achieved..?

Nigel, when it came to it, I couldn't actually remember what I'd done to achieve the image!

So, I started from scratch with the colour original & managed this........






...not better nor worse but different!

Stuart, the original was over-exposed in camera as a first step in helping the blending of the (white) outer petals into the white paper b/g. (Some seams in which are still just visible, sorry!)
Converted to mono in Elements 11.
Cropped.
Then a combination of levels & contrast adjustments to taste!
(As far as I can recollect....)

I think I feel a poll coming on.....
Light vs dark?

Roger.

Both are good in different ways

The opening image is gorgeous, delightful to look at

I'd be well happy with that

Thanks, David & Gareth.

Roger.

Cheers Roger..Delightful images... Must give it a try sometime..

Regarding lighter or darker I'd say lighter. To lighten the petals, just select the colour of the petals in the B&W colour channel box and move the slider, that'll either darken or lighten that specific colour

Cheers Gareth, but you lost me........

What is this "B&W colour channel box" of which you speak.........?

Do I have one of those in Elements 11?

Roger.

Print it, Frame it, Hang it - lovely image - I'd be proud

Thank you, LennyBloke, that's a very nice thing to say.
It is much appreciated.

Roger.

Oops! Thought it may have been like Lightroom that has sliders for different colour channels for monochrome conversions