If that's the 'bad' version, the one you'd be satisfied with must be grade AA. I think this pic here is pretty dang good, actually. Good shooting, HH!

Don B.

Photoshop ... one pixel at a time

nice job!

dave

HH, have you thought about removing the brown/tan lower background color? Total backlight then.

yeah, that diagonal line in the background was what killed the shot for me. I was so "focused" on the flower that I failed to notice the roofline of the house in the background. I surely could have found another location for the shot. Drats, that plant is no longer in bloom, and doing Photoshop on my smartypants phone really isn't really an option.

Living & learning.

low resolution capture... but gives you an idea of how it could look. (PS I'm too cheap to buy Photoshop... I use an open-source free program that is very powerful... I haven't even begun to explore its resources... called GIMP 2

Jim, I have it on my computer since the time I worked with Project Gutenberg. I'll have to try it again. It is a durable editing tool, not subject to frequent updates and free makes the price right. :)

Idiothe and Mocc, you guys have gotten me really excited. I love working with pictures so I had to experiment with HH's great shot of the flower. My effort below. I've used Triscape (FxFoto) for years and really like it but I'm always up for something different. I'm going to try that Gimp 2 and play around with it. What fun. Thanks! Myrle

Well, well, well. This is a picture which turned into a group think project!

Sort of reminds me of the definition of a camel---a horse designed by committee. A place I worked had something they called The Camel Project, where a committee designed a piece of equipment. That was my introduction to the definition of a camel.

Great results there, everyone. Think I'll work with Gimp2 more myself.

here's another one fer y'all to play with...

I need to carry a portable background with me ;-)

HH, I removed the background but do not know what you want for the new background. Someone else might be able to clean it up better. My hand is not too steady today.

Here it is for better or worse.

These are really fun - but time consuming... I did a quick job just to give you an idea what a black background would look like...

These are really fun - but time consuming... I did a quick job just to give you an idea what a black background would look like...

{{!gwi}}

I have to thank you guys very much. Working with pictures keeps me away from dreaded housework. I'm forced inside because of rainy weather. It's much more fun than vacuuming. Here's my effort with the Lily. This was cropped, shadow added and background slid in behind using FxFoto (Triscape). I've downloaded the Gimp2 program and am now trying to figure it out. It sure is different. Keep the challenges coming! Myrle

Very good, Myrle. It gives shadows.

However, the black background does not distract from the flower at all.

After you've replaced a background with a single color, GIMP lets you do a Select by color: Bucket Fill to replace the color anyplace in the photo with a different color or with patterns. Some of them can be quite hideous, but just for illustration...

or more neutral

red leather?

I'm voting for the matching red leather!

how about one growing out of a guy's head?

heh heh heh

dave

Yes, the red leather is the one I said "WOW!" when I saw it. Brings out the color in the flowers body parts. :)

Something very low tech I have been experimenting with is a piece of black felt. It's more reflective than I thought, so if I continue with it, I'll try different fabrics. For this, I just cut a square and put a slit in it. I was trying to get some leaf shots. I also used a bigger piece as a background for some flower shots. I just laid it on the hosta and shot from above. (I can't find it, so I must have deleted it for poor quality.)

bk

Here's a leaf shot from So Sweet.

that is a great tip... black velvet used to be used a lot in b&w photography days, but it picks up more reflections by far than the felt.