Red Asters

Posted on Sat, 5 November, 2011 by LensScaper

This started off as a ‘grab’ shot, taken for no particular reason as we wandered through the gardens of Sudeley Castle a few weeks ago. I just liked the colors of the Asters.

When I looked at the image on screen back home I realized how drab and tired the green background vegetation looked – typical of the way ‘greens’ tend to go in late summer – especially a dry one like we have had this year. Somehow that drabness sucked the color out of the Asters too. Dismal.

Red Asters - click to enlarge

So, I took the derivative route: desaturated everything except Red and Magenta and boosted the saturation of those last two colors. A tweak to brightness and contrast, a tidy up of the odd stray red petal in the periphery of the image, final sharpening and that was it – job done.

Suddenly the color shone.  Hope you like it.

About LensScaper

Hi - I'm a UK-based photographer who started out 45+ years ago as a lover of landscapes, inspired by my love of outdoor pursuits: skiing, walking and climbing. Now retired, I seldom leave home without a camera and I find images in unexpected places and from different genres. I work on the premise that Photography is Art and that creativity is dependent on the cultivation of 'A Seeing Eye'.
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13 Responses to Red Asters

  1. edithlevyphotography says:
    Sat, 5 November, 2011 at 17:13

    Well done Andy. I really like this.

    Like

  2. munchow says:
    Sun, 6 November, 2011 at 09:22

    Thanks for telling about the process and your thinking behind this picture. It relates directly to what I tried to convey in my post you so generously commented (thanks for that, too). Your picture shows that there are many ways to a final goal. And I really like how you made this picture pop out – or the flower as it is. It’s so vivid and saturated. Great picture.

    Like

  3. Sophie says:
    Mon, 7 November, 2011 at 09:50

    I really like it – the magenta make the petals zing !

    Like

  4. chrisdmrf says:
    Mon, 7 November, 2011 at 10:45

    Love it. Good bit of colour isolation.

    Like

  5. Jimi Jones says:
    Mon, 7 November, 2011 at 15:28

    Excellent use of selective color, Andy. You nailed this in post processing. Really like the overall detail, man.

    Like

  6. Anne McKinnell says:
    Mon, 7 November, 2011 at 19:30

    Andy, this is beautiful, I love the way you processed it with the selective colour. Very nice!

    Like

  7. Marc says:
    Mon, 7 November, 2011 at 19:37

    The spot colouring works really well.

    Like

  8. Steven Perlmutter says:
    Tue, 8 November, 2011 at 13:15

    Terrific shot Andy. The colors really pop against the desaturated background.

    Like

  9. Dave DiCello says:
    Tue, 8 November, 2011 at 18:29

    This is some great use of SC Andy, I love how it makes the image look 3D. You’ve nailed this one.

    Like

  10. Len Saltiel says:
    Tue, 8 November, 2011 at 19:06

    Great choice with the selective color Andy. It really makes the flower pop.

    Like

  11. Steve Beal says:
    Tue, 8 November, 2011 at 19:34

    I love the selective color – really tasteful.

    Like

  12. Adam Allegro says:
    Wed, 9 November, 2011 at 12:48

    Beautiful Andy! Lovely choice for selective color. Well done!

    Like

Comments are closed.