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Creative Study Group 24
Nancy Parker

Jim Hawkins
Frank Crommelin
Elli Kraizberg
Ian Ledgard
Nancy Parker
Stephan Funke
Andrés Canepa
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June Image - Psychedelic Lotus

How I did it -

Because of time constraints this month I decided to submit one of the very first creative images I produced when I first started playing with Photoshop years ago.  The early work on this image has disappeared in cyperspace.  My file management was poor and, before I learned better, I flattened everything so this is all there is.  So I guess this is essentially a "show and tell".

The original image of an Indian Lotus bud at the Missouri Botanical Garden was a slide.  The natural colors were creamy white and pale pink with soft green leaves in and out of focus in the background.  I produced this image by “playing” with Photoshop before I had any idea what I was doing.  I created many colors by playing in curves, just picking points on the curve at random and pulling down or up.  I got a number of different colors but I didn’t like them.  I created a hue/saturation layer and played with hue to get a palette of fairly pure primary colors which I saturated to the maximum.  I think a little brightness/contrast adjustment was required to finish up. 

This result is essentially a happy accident.  Since I have no record of where I placed points on the curve and what I did to them and since the result would depend on the original colors in the image, I can’t duplicate this. I have tried this same general technique on a number of other flower images with few results that I liked at all.  Sometimes playing in curves does not result in many colors and sometimes when it does, I couldn't adjust the hues to anything I liked.

 

 


COMMENTS:
 
Nancy's post-comment space
June 25th - Thanks for your all your comments on this month's image.  I can't disagree with any of them.  The comment about grain or noise reminded me, however, that I'd forgotten that I posterized the image to produce that grain. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I agree that it might be better without it.  In spite of its many deficiencies it has been my most successful image in international salons.  Nevertheless, if I still had a workable image, I would probably try to adjust a few things in line with your comments.
 
Jim Hawkins You say this is a happy accident and (no doubt) it was beginner's luck but *you* had to have the eye even then to see it as a competition image! As you can no longer replicate your procedure and results, there is no point in pointing out weaknesses to be avoided. The main thing is that it has the important attributes for a winning EID Creative Image: tremendous impact, great color, and sound composition. I remember it from the last PSA Exhibition. Lucky or not, nice job!
 
Frank Crommelin Very nice image, I love the colors and it has great flowing lines but the noise/grain just grabs my eye and takes so much away from the image.
 
Elli Kraizberg Playing with curves always generates random results which depends also on the level of resolution of the image. The outcome of your piece is obviously fascinating . I personally prefer to have more control on the outcome so to obtain this kind of results I prefer the use of combination of mask (difference or overlay) and hue and saturation.. Also two identical layers when one is negative of the other and then choice of opacity.
 
Ian Ledgard What fun you can have playing with curves; something I find hard to resist. Sometimes you end up with a fine image as you have done in this case. Because you have gone psychedelic I thing you should have added a boldly coloured frame to set off the effect. Haven't I see this in a recent International - Suncoast perhaps. I would also have voted for it if I had been on the panel.
 
Stephan Funke A good example of early trials with interesting details in colorizing and composition.

We have a kind of diagonal line and a certain fixed point from where all starts which is out of the middle. (composition). And we have the blue and yellow confrontation. (Complementary colors) I was missing the green / magenta confrontation (instead of orange). The whole thing is a little bit caged. Flowers in nature need space around to move in the wind, this one does not have.

 
Andrés Canepa This is one of those images that I think, the original is better. The framing is good, and you get color equilibrium and light balance.
In personal, lost de background defocusing and the lens bouquet flat the image.
 


 


 
Nancy Parker - Biography

I am a retired university professor.  I currently volunteer one day a week in research at the Missouri Botanical Garden on “The Flora of Missouri” project.  I have taken pictures casually since I got my first Brownie Hawkeye camera when I was about 12.  I got my first 35 mm camera, a Canon AE1, about 40 years ago.  I shot kids, grandkids, and mostly nature for years and was “official” field and lab photographer for a large botany group at the university, shooting slides.  I joined the St. Louis Camera Club in 2002 and PSA in 2006.   Within the past five years I have discovered Photoshop and, continuing my march through the Canon EOS series,  moved to digital with the 30D.  I still like to shoot nature but I now shoot a variety of subjects and LOVE playing in Photoshop, although I am still a novice.


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