Sunflower, Part 3

[Chris Calohan II]

All Biblical allusions aside, from a seed from another Sunflower, this one now Rises to the occasion. It is indeed a rebirth of sorts, regardless of religious beliefs.

Thee Has Arisen: Chris Calohan​

 

[Jerome Marot]

I prefer this more discrete processing to the previous one. Of course, other people may prefer the other one, so this is just my opinion.

 

[Asher Kelman]

All Biblical allusions aside, from a seed from another Sunflower, this one now Rises to the occasion. It is indeed a rebirth of sorts, regardless of religious beliefs.

Thee Has Arisen: Chris Calohan​

Chris,

Now my wife's cut flowers have living relatives! Yes, this process is so much more friendly. Of course, every way we look at things is different, but this presentation is so fresh and full of life!

Asher

 

[Maggie Terlecki]

I think the unfurling of the flower is beautiful. It makes me hold my breath waiting to see it blossom completely. I also really love the composition of the flower and how the unopened buds are there supporting the composition but not interfering with it. I also liked this post-processing more than the one before as it has placed emphasis solely on certain parts. Like a piece of music where it is more beautiful when there are nuances and balance between soft intimate parts and more dramatic intense ones, here the outer leaves feel a bit rigid and strong but that makes the soft delicate petals inside feel more luxurious.
As much as I love this, I'm not in love with the bottom area in light grey with further foliage behind. It keeps pulling my attention and takes away from the beauty of the shape of the main focus, the sunflower, slowly freeing itself and fulfilling its destiny.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Chris,

Just to follow up on Maggie's small reservations on the composition. Imagine, for the sake of argument that you agree wioth her, LOL!

How would you then you about the personal "ethics" of removing leaves you might have liked at time of shooting but not when they appear on the screen? Do you feel you must either use the picture as shot or else do you feel at liberty to remove whatever you might now feel impairs the experience.

For myself, I have no conscience about removing thing for artwork. For a documentary, that would be out of bounds for me!

Asher

 

[Chris Calohan II]

I have reservations about moving or removing things from images to a point. My problem (and I didn't really see it as much a problem as I did a challenge) was I loved the dramatic stance of this pose because it allowed me the freedom to enhance on one side and de-emphasize on the other. I did this through a series of layer masks, each working either the main subject, the two outstretched limbs (leaves) and the soon to be flowering buds.

I will likely explore some of the other exposures made to see if I can use them or perhaps a part of them to eliminate the bottom starkness. Thanks Maggie, Asher and Jerome.