10

[Mike Buckley]

My wife's orchid now has ten blossoms, which is the most that it will have.

Thanks to Steve's help with a photo of the orchid when it had only nine blossoms, I now have an idea about the amount of detail that can be brought out in the petals. Do you have any thoughts about the detail in this photo?

[Plumcrak]

I am impressed with the detail, very nicely done.

I was thinking that it would be nice to see the entire flower at the very top?....or maybe not?

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Jon. If I were to show the entire blossom at the top, you and I are the only two people on the planet who would like the floating effect that would result. The idea is to avoid that by anchoring part of the orchid to the side of the frame.

[pnodrog]

Congratulations are you a greater expert at gardening or cloning? Go on make it fifteen - I know you can do it but we will want the RAW file like Nat Geo.

A very impressive orchid image and the detail is fine.

[Mike Buckley]

are you a greater expert at gardening or cloning?

I'm terrible at gardening and the only cloning I know how to do is done with image-editing software. Thanks for your feedback about the detail!

[Mike Buckley]

I just couldn't resist the urge to make a photo of these ten gorgeous blossoms in the white-on-white style.

[Bobobird]

Practice makes perfect.

Great work here.

Not hot with white on white but the larger size lightbox version says different.

[Mike Buckley]

Practice makes perfect.

Maybe eventually, but not quite yet.

[rtbaum]

I kinda like both the white on white AND the white on black, I can be wishy-washy

[Mike Buckley]

That's not being wishy-washy, Randy. That's being accommodating.

[HenkB]

Both backgrounds work very nicely, congrats. What is interesting is how different the blooms appear in the different lighting schemes. The side lighting really brings out the modeling. Consequently, the black background seems to carry with it the potential for higher apparent detail. There is certainly a great deal more drama to it. Too bad about that top bloom, wah.

[Mike Buckley]

Hendrik,

Welcome to CiC and thank you for your comments. While I agree that the black background provides opportunities for more drama, I also feel the bright background (at least as I am presently using it) provides for a lighter, more elegant feel. I think the reason the detail in the petals is less apparent when using the bright background is that the light shining through the white acrylic is also shining through the petals just a little bit. (This is apparent before turning on the frontal lighting.) So, combining the back lighting and the frontal lighting provides a smooth effect that I like very much for different reasons than the lighting used with the dark background.

[terrib]

I tend toward the liking the black best but like them both and would only chose one over the other based on how it would ultimately be used/displayed. I do like the additional detail in the black version.

Interesting comment you made about anchoring the flower to the frame. I think I would be fine with it floating. But I also don't mind it being cut off since it is just one of so many blooms. Talk about wishy washy!

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks as always for dropping by, Terri. You might not have seen this discussion about the floating look.

[rawill]

Great shots.


But, to be picky!, I would like to see the white on black in the same orientation as the white on white.

I like the white on black effect but not the orientation!~!

But like I said, great shots.

[Mike Buckley]

I don't think your comment is being the slightest bit picky, Robin. I like the horizontal orientation better also and may make one with the black background. These pics are part of a series that shows the growth from two blossoms to ten blossoms. So, I intentionally used a variety of angles. Maybe the photo with the black background works better in the context of the other fifteen keepers in the series. Maybe not.

[rawill]

Mike,

Yes I have been watching the shots from the beginning.

It has been great "watching".

Now I'm off to see if any of my motor racing shots from today are any good.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Mike,

This photo is superb; I'd hang it on my wall. The black is way better for me, the bloom spike lookes 3D like it's popping off my screen. All of that said, I have two minor points, I hope you don't mind: 1. I wonder how it would look with a very tiny bit more black at the bottom. It feels slightly cramped there. And 2. On the second bloom down some of the purple specks appear to have a "glowy" fringe that looks like possibly an artifact of PP. I could be wrong though, and my eyes are not great since I stare at a monitor 14 hours a day.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks for the ideas, Matt! I disagree that they are minor points.

I always thought the fringing on the purple dots was attractive and surely part of the flower. (I know nothing about flowers.) Now that you have mentioned it, I realize that it is the result of post-processing. Surprisingly, it was not an artifact being introduced to the image. Instead, when making a mask, I failed to select all tones of the purple dots. When then making the adjustment, the lighter tones on the outside of the dot became much brighter and contrasty compared to the darker tones of the dots. It was a simple fix once I found the adjustment step that caused the problem. Thanks for mentioning it!

EDIT: I have also now corrected the exact same issue caused the exact same way in an earlier photo I made of this orchid. Your suggestion has paid doubled dividends!

I could be happy with the original crop or the the one shown below that allows a little more space at the bottom. Thanks also for mentioning that.

[Steve S]

Enjoying your progress, mike. Looking good!