Fall grass

[DanK]

Fall is finally here, so it is time to start again with dried flowers, seeds, and the like. These grass catkins were on the side of a bike trail when we went walking today. C&C welcome, as always.

[Ziggy]

I like this one Dan, nice work.

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[DougR]

As nice as this is I appreciate more the motivation of a totally new genre to photograph.

Doug

[Mike Buckley]

Stunning simplicity!

[rpcrowe]

Lovely capture!

[DanK]

Thanks, all. Doug, I have experimented a bit with this for several years, as a way to do macro during our long winters. I think the patterns one can find are really interesting. You can see some of them here.

[chauncey]

I find flora in all stages of life/death/renewal a very interesting photography subject.
I followed your link...like your stuff.

[NorthernFocus]

Excellent, Dan. I love the isolation. Nothing competing with the detail of the subject. Well done.

[bnnrcn]

Lovely shot Dan May I ask how you treated the BG to make it black ?

[John 2]

That's nice work Dan. Nice arrangement, lighting and PP.

[DanK]

Thanks, all. Binnur--I picked these and took them inside. I used a black fleece vest as a background. I then selected the background by color in photoshop, used the selection as a mask in a levels adjustment, and zeroed out the background. I then inverted the mask to allow me to make other adjustments just to the grass.

[JBW]

Superb

[bnnrcn]

Thanks Dan This is what I guessed but the shape of the plant is not an easy one to make selections and that's why I wondered about your technique. I think the black fleece vest helped you and may be you used refine edge funtion in PS while making the selection?

Thanks, all. Binnur--I picked these and took them inside. I used a black fleece vest as a background. I then selected the background by color in photoshop, used the selection as a mask in a levels adjustment, and zeroed out the background. I then inverted the mask to allow me to make other adjustments just to the grass.

[FootLoose]

Great shot, Dan. If you were leaning towards the abstract/impressionistic side, it looks like it might be a good candidate for a touch of Topaz' Glow.

[gregj1763]

Yep, all of the above Dan, simple but striking. Great image

[DanK]

Thanks, all.

Greg (footloose)--thanks for the suggestion, but I don't use Topaz products and don't want to go down the Glow path. I control lighting just with the physical placement of lights, diffusers, etc.

Binnur: I use this technique fairly often because with my setup, I usually can't avoid some light hitting the background and making it less than pure black. sometimes, I do have to fuss with the selection, usually by adding to it or subtracting areas. In this case, the contrast between the black and the catkins is enough that I didn't have to do anything at all to it. It isn't noticeable if the border is a pixel or two off, as long as it doesn't intrude onto the part that you don't want to darken.

[IzzieK]

Excellent simplicity as usual coming from you, Dan...

[Rebel]

Very nice Dan, I think Greg summed it up well with "simple and striking."

[Rita]

Wonderful image. I really like how the stalks have almost a glow in the dark look.