I'm a total idiot when it comes to PS - that's why I am taking the online tutorials so that I can learn. So far we have not covered the dodge and burn actions. There are UF members that will jump at the chance to help you with tutorials and assistance. Sorry I can't help you there. Well ... maybe if one could clone a bit of colour from another petal, and then smudge it?
Regarding not checking for any distracting colours/objects/blah blah blah. Don't worry - this is something I learned very quickly as my mentors pointed my mistakes out to me. For instance, if there is a little nip in a leaf or a speck of dust on a petal, I will clone it out. I have also learned to check and double check what is in the background, and under the plant/flower. If there is a dead bloom, I will remove it. If a pebble stands out, I push it away. Obviously one can't control everything when shooting naturally (out in the veld, etc.) but soon your eye will spot anything that could distract from your image.
It's something that starts coming naturally when you shoot a lot of the same object (like in my case, flowers). Just like you have mastered your wildlife, so you will when you practice a lot on florals. And as you said yourself - it's digital - we can shoot till we are tired and if it's no good, it gets dumped ... at no cost.
Linn Thank you for your comments. i appreciate your true feelings, If everthing was wonderful and perfect there would be no reason to try and improve. i have a habit maybe of not taking that last look for distracting elements that you see. This is something I need to improve on. In fact until you mentioned it, I never saw the other bits of color on the left and right. I don't knoe how to darken the hot spot, i tried the burn tool, but if there is nothing there to start with nothing gets darker. Whats the secret ?
Jim, I like this a lot (but then I am a total push-over for pink!). The image has a very soft feel to it, DOF is fantastic. Composition is simple yet so elegant - natural yet as if posed by Mother Nature.
Yet again I would have cropped just a bit off the left and right hand side to eliminate the bit of colour showing up, and keep the eye's focus on the main blooms, and the one in the deep background.
Some might want to see the blooms in sharper focus - for me the overall image allows you to have the softer focus. Yes, there is a hot spot and if you are good at PS, you could remove that. If this was my image (I can dream, can't I? ) I would have lived with the hotspot too, as it really is a great shot.
Beautifully framed as to not take away from the image itself.
Nice colors and mood. Yes, have had enuff rain. You bet I am liking the new camera. Though, I am sure I would like a D70 just as well as the canon. I do miss the wysiwyg immediate feedback of the LCD on the G3 though. All the best,
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