Hawthorn Blossom

[wulf]

Here is a picture I took on Monday on a walk through some local woodland:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wulf/491216764/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/491216764_61abd0e6cb.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorn Blossom" /></a>

It was a dull day and under the leaf canopy so light was limited. However, the shot was handheld (and there was a gentle breeze), so I couldn't push the shutter speed too long, and I wanted some reasonable sharpness and depth of field despite the short distance, so I couldn't make the aperture wider (I was fairly near the limit of the lens anyway). I suppose I could have increased the ISO rating but I also wanted to avoid graininess. The result had some merits but was rather dull.

Cue some time post-processing with the GIMP. I bumped up the contrast (using a blurred overlay) tweaked the colours and added some selective sharpening:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wulf/492469209/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/212/492469209_808040af09.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="Hawthorn Blossom" /></a>

It still won't win any awards but is brighter and richer without looking unnatural. I wish I had got the nearest flower slightly futher into the focal zone but, side by side, I have no doubt that the revised version is the more attractive image.

Wulf

[jiminyClickit]

wulf,

Maybe the award for consistently good work. It's rewarding by itself also just to have a piece of seasonal regeneration.

This is another rite of Spring (along with Daffodils) that several folks have posted before I got around to doing.

Do the fiddlely bits of orange (dead blossoms?) bother you, or do you accept them as part of Nature? Have you taken one with full Sun and compared? Each way has a benefit (here your shadows are not harsh). This shot has the feel of where you were, a woodland walk. One more successful job.

[wulf]

I am not too bothered with the imperfections in this one. I think the orange of the dead blossoms works as a nice counter-balance to the white of the live ones, being a good contrast to the dominanant greens. The little flecks and bits of dirt add to the impression of "real live nature" although if I was using this for something like a greetings card I might be tempted to clone some of them out.

Wulf

[z999]

I think it's much better than it could be if you decreased aperture or uncrease ISO.