I used a gradient filter with a range mask for the colors in the background. Then I touched up the flowers with a local adjustment brush. Thoughts?
Spring beauty is one of the most lovely and messy early wildflowers. They are all over - in the lawn, in the leaf litter, the driveway gravel and in the moss. These two seemed to be looking up at me and begging for a portrait. It was a little windy so I manually did some focus changes with every shot - it isn’t nearly as thorough as using the focus bracketing function, but I’m ok with it.
Specific Feedback Requested
It isn’t a precise stack so there are some edges of things that aren’t as crisp as other parts. Is it too obvious and weird?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Lumix G9
Leica DG 45mm f/2.8 macro
f/5 | 1/30 sec | ISO 200
Tripod
Lr for basic processing & white balance. Zerene for 10-image stack. Retouched PMax final image. Lr for a little crop and sharpening.
Sounds like some tough conditions and I think you did pretty well to pull this off. I don’t see any specific stacking artifacts. The thing that bothers me is the brightness of the background. It overpowers the subjects for me. I did a little work to tone down the background and shift the hue just a bit as well. I also made a couple of small adjustments to the flowers for hue and luminance as well. Here’s the result.
Thanks for taking the time, Keith. It looks a tad dark to me, but it’s a step in the right direction I think. I always hesitate to change too much of the exposure values for fear of making things look too manipulated if you know what I mean, and sometimes I don’t take the processing far enough to benefit the photo. It’s a balance…I’ll let it sit a while longer and then have another go.
Kris, Spring Beauty are an oft shot, favorite. You’ve done well here, finding a pair with strong pink veins set against the mottled green background. The view looks good.
