Photos by MARIA DRAPER
"Night Owl" Roses
Posted by Maria (California, United States) on 3 May 2012 in Plant & Nature and Portfolio.
I love flowers, but I usually prefer them as part of a larger landscape composition, probably because I am very bad at close-up flower shots...
I have a macro lens, but after a few trials I decided that my macro lens and I, have nothing in common! :)
I used my telephoto lens for this shot...
This is one of my favorite roses that I have in my backyard....and I have about 20 varieties of roses...
Thank you ALL for your visit and comments.
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Visit me at: Maria Draper Photography
@Yair: thanks Yair
Tataze from Bourgogne, France
arises when light gently beautiful colors. sublime result
3 May 2012 5:31am
Roman from Thiersee, Austria
awesome light on this beautiful rose; I like the dark color.
a perfect shot Maria.
3 May 2012 6:25am
Aubélia from Kortrijk, Belgium
Beautiful light, colors and presentation !!! Great shot !
3 May 2012 10:02am
Japanalia from Yokohama, Japan
I feel that they are watching me with their lit-up eyes! Wonderful idea and presentation! (Of course...as you know me...and how I feel about flowers and gardens and all...I want to see your roses! How about some shots from your garden?)
3 May 2012 10:08am
Judy aka L@dybug from Brooksville, FL, United States
What a complete surprise to see this darker photo from you! It is astonishing, awe-inspiring, extraordinary, incredible, magnificent, outstanding, and sensational ... *****
Of course, I'd love to know how you managed the beautiful lighting ... a flashlight, perhaps?
3 May 2012 2:20pm
@Judy aka L@dybug: Thanks Judy for this entire suite of compliments...I just hope the image deserves them all :) The photo was taken (last June) at 1:30 pm, which means that theoretically, the light would be the worse possible...but luckily, the sun was very weak, and the photo is taken in the shade. The resulted photo(s) were quite dull and quite bad, too! :) but thanks to the wonderful Nik Software, and of course, Photoshop that helped me bring it up to life (to earn all these compliments from you :) ). Mainly, I darkened more the darks and lightened more the lights in several steps (to suit each area of the image in different ways) with levels, and I also used the Skylight filter (in Color Efex) which made all highlights and flowers' centers, glow. I then used the Brilliance/Warmth filter (in Color Efex) to warm-up the tones and DEsaturate the image that became too colorful for my taste (due to the darkening/deepening process with levels). Sharpened and reduced noise as usual... And for the final touches, I duplicated the image and lightened it a lot, then masked it all out, and then used a very thin grunge brush to un-mask only outlines of petals, and other such highlights in order to emphasize more the light, obtaining probably a similar result to what Curly mentioned with the dodge/burn tool. How is that for the shortest answer that I can possibly give? :) Again, thanks Judy...
Curly from South Shields, United Kingdom
Terrific still life Maria, there surely must be some very deft dodging and burning in here, the levels of illumination and contrast are wonderful. The highlights for me are the positive areas of "glow" in the centre of each flower.
3 May 2012 4:36pm
@Curly: Thanks so much Curly...always looking forward to your comments as they are very meaningful to me...
Eric Cousineau from Sherwood Park, Canada
Stunning lighting here Maria! They seem to have an inner glow all of their own! Bravo! ;-)
3 May 2012 5:56pm
@Eric Cousineau: thanks Eric
klausZ from Kufstein, Austria
a captivating compo with this so beautiful flowers! it´s fantastic how you handle the light and focus in this shot! a really remarkable one Maria! both thumbs up!!!
3 May 2012 5:59pm
@klausZ: thanks Klaus
Sylvie49 capture image from Anjou - Maine et Loire, France
Pas courant de voir une telle couleur pour des roses. Fantastique.
3 May 2012 6:16pm
@Steve: well, thank you very much
franz from Baden, Austria
maria, this leaves me speechless (amost)! but i don't believe a word you say - these are not roses from your garden, they are of VELVET as anyone can see! ;-))
AND you're damn good at photographing flower, if this image is any indication! keep them coming, please !!!
3 May 2012 7:18pm
@franz: wait a minute...are you calling me a liar??? :))) I have a witness they are real, see the message bellow from DarkElf! -- :)) of course they are of velvet, aren't all flowers like that? thank you so much Franz, you made me smile
Baldwin VW from Bejuma, Venezuela
Gorgeous light and wonderful colors !!!! Outstanding presentation, really beautiful ....
3 May 2012 7:38pm
@Baldwin VW: thank you
DarkElf from Perth, Australia
beautiful flowers with a rich burgundy colour - this is a lovely composition and they look as real as if they were standing right in front of me!
4 May 2012 2:23am
@DarkElf: thanks DarkElf...I appreciate it very much...
Jocelyne from Shefford, Canada
Superbe! J'adore la lumière. Belle composition. Bravo!
4 May 2012 10:20am
Jason Kravitz from Brussels, United States
beautiful display Maria - I like the dark and purply tones
4 May 2012 7:26pm
@Jason Kravitz: thanks Jason
@Heinz: thanks Heinz
maximage from Mase, Switzerland
O U T S T A N D I N G !
Wonderful light and vivid colors! Realy a master piece! Excellent photo job here.
5 May 2012 2:16pm
@maximage: thanks Max
Mariana M. from Waterloo, Canada
Beautiful processing . Light and tones are stunning !
5 May 2012 9:18pm
Carol from United States
This is truly a work of art.....All of Judy's adjectives apply....May I ask how long it took you to complete all the steps you mentioned in your answer to her? You are extraordinarily gifted.
6 May 2012 2:00am
Steve from Camdenton, United States
What a spectacular photo!! Everyone's adjectives to describe this shot are perfect...as is this shot!
6 May 2012 5:33am
Paunel from Romania
Este un moment in viata cand trebuie sa vezi si rostul Umbrei, chiar daca iubesti Lumina ca fiica a Ei...
Tin'te bine doar!
6 May 2012 4:20pm
Nicou from Sion, Switzerland
Merveilleux bouquet de rose tèrs bien présneté avec un superbe éclairage, fantastique iamge.
belle journée
8 May 2012 3:25am
Tede from Aubenas 07, France
A true marvel, splendid floral composition. Nice day.
8 May 2012 2:58pm
Elsabe from Johannesburg - Fourways, South Africa
Wow !!! this is superb. Such an unusual colour, but absolutey beautiful.
You will have to post all 20 varieties of your roses.
The selective light on the blooms are beautiful. Well done !!!
9 May 2012 12:11pm
Judy aka L@dybug from Brooksville, FL, United States
I'm late in getting back to you after your wonderful explanation ... and I'm smiling at Carol's (and others') comments. It just "goes to show you" that your efforts were well received. Purists might say this is 'cheating', but in my opinion, we are gifted when we see the potential in an image that poor weather, lighting, or circumstances prevent us from capturing the way we want in the camera! Sometimes people forget the adjustments that were made in a dark room with film. Well, we just have different tools today, and it behooves us to master the ones that we might enjoy using. (I haven't had good success w/the skylight filter in EFEX, but now see that by using it, plus others, and layering, it can work well.) ... Keep up your great work! ♥
9 May 2012 3:53pm
Nicou from Sion, Switzerland
Grandisoe bouquet, quelle couleur et finesse sueprbe iamge fantastique.
Belle soirée
13 May 2012 2:23pm
Gary Hart from California, United States
Beautiful image, Marie. What makes it stand out is your use of light and DOF to guide my eye. I too have a macro lens that I rarely use anymore. Not because I don't like it or macro photography, but because I find a telephoto and (sometimes) extension tube(s) give me so much more flexibility. I hope you keep trying shots like this.
13 May 2012 2:59pm
@Gary Hart: Thanks Gary... And I thought it was only me doing odd things :)) Yes, I agree, the extension tubes also work better for me than the macro lens. Even that I'm not much into photographing flowers, I prefer the tubes and the telephoto lens for flexibility, like you say, and also, I think that they give me a more shallow background. I'm glad I'm not alone who feels that way, now I feel better! :))
@Gary Hart: Marie it's ok! :)
Mike from California, United States
A very "rich" image...rich in color depth and visual interest...I found my eye wandering all over your composition taking in all the different details...
14 May 2012 12:58am
@Mike: Thanks Mike, much appreciated
Arash from Brisbane, Australia
Beautiful.... great color and detail.... I enjoyed!
14 May 2012 12:59am
L¨M from bras sur meuse, France
Quatre petits éclats d'or ds les fleurs...du coeur!
14 May 2012 9:54am
Fraucha from Біла Церква, Ukraine
Oh my, my wife just saw these and is chomping at the bit to find them here in Ukraine. She loves roses also.
Beautiful shot!
14 May 2012 10:21am
@Fraucha: thanks John, I hope your wife will find them in Ukraine, as well...
Universe from Tehran, Iran
Intriguing shot with a creative framing!!!
Well done.
Good luck.
.
14 May 2012 3:52pm
Don Smith from California, United States
This is beautiful Maria - the light is exquisite. I read your response the Judy. The Nik filters are wonderful but the person using the filters needs to have the expertise - obviously you do :-)
17 May 2012 3:12pm