Woodland Garden

Description:

Wild Phlox peaking through the ferns. Longwood Gardens located in Kennett Square, PA

Specific Feedback Requested:

Any And All Welcomed

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)
NO

If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.
4 Likes

Love the processing on this one, James. What all did you do to get the final image?

I’m scanning through and trying to catch up here after being too busy for several weeks, and this one stopped me in my tracks! I think it’s incredibly gorgeous, both the composition and the tonalities!!

James, you’ve made the Phlox blooms stand out beautifully in the midst of the fern leaves. This is quite the b&w statement.

James, I like how the lighting on the Phlox seems to call attention to them, and the fern is just supportive of them in the scene. B&W works well for this. Nice image.

Thanks for the comments .always enjoyed regardless of the “tone”. This image is a tight crop of the original color image ,to which I applied a slight Orton effect , giving the image a bit of softness and the glow. The B&W conversion was a simple convert to B&W and then work on the tones of the fern and the flowers. I find that the use of luminosity masks helps to isolate the tones and then adjust using curves and dodging and burning.

1 Like

A wonderful scene, featuring two of my favorite plants. Phlox are such a tidy shape that they could demand to grab your eyes, but you treated them so as to harmonize with the maidenhair fern beautifully. The subdued brightness conveys a gentleness. The downward flow seems to have the gentle energy of a small waterfall. The maidenhair get an Oscar for supporting role.

Great photo with the lighting and contrast James. It is well balanced, and the B&W was a great way to go.

James: I do very little B&W but I think I know a good one when I see it and this is a good one. Fine comp and conversion and an interesting subject. Superbly crafted image.>=))>