This is a final Flora image for awhile (I have a group of waterfall images to work my way through in Landscape), but one of my favorites of the recent postings.
Our first day out last month, @Steve_Kennedy and I had hoped to focus on rhododendron blooms, and then the Milky Way from Lost Lake. Both of those were a complete bust, but Steve found a really nice patch of trillium around Lolo Pass near Mount Hood that we played with.
As I noted in an earlier post it’s rare that I take an image with the plan to convert it to black and white (I usually stumble on to it when playing with a color version), but this was one where black and white was my intent from the get go.
Specific Feedback Requested
I played with many variations in the tones to find the most appealing balance, to my eye, of shadow and light. Does this result work for you in that regard?
There’s a bit of speckling (pollen), and I’ll post a version with that removed below. Let me know if you think it improves the image.
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR at 70.0 mm
1/8 sec. at f/11.0 and ISO 64
Truth in Blending Statement: 10 images blended for DOF
Hi John! This is simply stunning! Excellent job with the conversion to B&W. Great detail, and the black background really sets it all off. The speckles are pretty minor but I do like the cleaner look with them removed.
John, your de-speckled one is truly stunning, especially in large view. B&W on this makes it truly sing. I can’t think of a thing to change. Congrats on a very successful image.
WOW!!! This is simply drop-dead GORGEOUS!!! The subject is stunning, DOF wonderful, and the subdued BG with slight detail sets it off so well. The tonalities are perfect – it’s what I call zone silver! This is worthy of a HUGE gallery print in the hands of a very high-end art dealer!
The pollen? Hardly enough difference to notice. The only importance to me would be if absolute authenticity was important. And it could be to a certain market. (Or used to be…)
Come on now…are you trying to sweep the Flora EP category forever? You just keep knocking it out of the park. I think this is your best one yet. If you kept it in color, I’d say keep the pollen and other dust particles on the leaves. With the presence of color those would be at once so small, but an further indicator of reality and the natural world. With the selenium tone or silver tone you’ve taken with this, the idea of reality is already at a distance so the elimination of those bits only adds to that. I just can’t say enough about how tremendous this is. My hat, such as it is, is off to you.
