Calla on black

Gallery: FloraPosted March 26, 2011142 views16 comments

I have been meaning to photograph a dark flower on a black bg following the white on white I did 6 months ago. Finally got down to going to the florist to look for a dark looking flower. I had to choose between a amaryllis or calla and chose the latter. Also bought a black cardboard from the stationery shop.

Taken in my kitchen with LED side-backlight. D90 105mm F11 30sec. CS5 Viveza 2, Velvia film simulation, TK glow. Thanks for looking and C&C appreciate.

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Anne K. Rusk on March 26, 2011 at 11:35 AM

I really like how you captured the velvety texture of the flower here. The thumb doesn't do this any justice! Excellent choice on flower blossom and lighting. The slight highlight on the curl is awesome!
On my monitor there seems to be a difference in the black at the bottom of the frame up to the tiny white line 1/3 from the right. I could be seeing things...I've only had one cup of coffee this morning!

Registered on October 10, 2010, 65 Posts, 904 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 26, 2011 at 12:40 PM

Darkly mysterious. A very compelling image. Lighting is excellent

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Duff on March 26, 2011 at 1:05 PM

W Gary this is fabulous. Very mysterious and foreboding....you're really into Pat's domain

Lighting is really special and makes the image. Only thing I would suggest is to change the colour of the white stripe to a burgundy red.

Registered on April 21, 2010, 160 Posts, 1675 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on March 26, 2011 at 1:06 PM

Beautiful image Gary. I love the dark aspect of course. (smile) I might bring up the violet/blue brightness a touch but purely subjective.

pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Brigitte Lorenz on March 26, 2011 at 3:47 PM

Wonderful image, Gary...I really like the mysterious darkness and the beautiful colors...excellent work!

Brigitte

Registered on January 10, 2009, 187 Posts, 1507 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Dayton on March 26, 2011 at 7:09 PM

This works for me. Very creative.

Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on March 26, 2011 at 8:59 PM

Very artistic. Good choice on the flower. Nice comp and lighting. Personally, I'd like to see the flower a pinch lighter, I think.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 26, 2011 at 9:41 PM

Great concept and excellent execution, but I too would like to see the flower just a bit brighter.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Smith on March 27, 2011 at 12:34 AM

This is mysterious and beautiful! I like the glow that seems to breath from this. I don't have as much fondness for the white border...a little finer shade and size is my preference. But, it hardly is worth mentioning...cause the photo rocks.

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 27, 2011 at 11:42 AM

Gary: Striking image. It has to be examined carefully and doing so is really satisfying. Well conceived and superbly executed.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Buck on March 27, 2011 at 12:51 PM

I love the dark on dark photos Gary. This is similar to some that I did a few years ago, and that I have wanted to do again. I wish I would have had a chance to get a dark amaryllis - that would be great!

I like the subtle definition to the edges of the flower. Very nice.

Nathan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on March 27, 2011 at 2:48 PM

Wow, amazing, Gary. Well conceived concept and vision. I also see the area Anne has mentioned.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Christine Jackson on March 27, 2011 at 6:09 PM

Gary,

Beautiful and mysterious! Love the rich dark colors, they are very dramatic. Well Done!

Chrisie Jackson
Denver, Colorado

Registered on September 19, 2010, 20 Posts, 244 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on March 27, 2011 at 7:19 PM

Gary stunning work!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on March 28, 2011 at 12:37 AM

Thanks everyone for your comments.
@Anne & Michael: You guys have good eyes. I must introduced this artifact during processing. Will fix this in my archive copy.
@Pat, Scott & Mark: This is a very dark bloom and I have already brighten the bloom some. I didn't want to stray too far from the original. Probably need to view this in a darken room if I stick to the original color.
@Nathan: Actually I went the the florist specifically to get an amaryllis but the one in bloom had a slightly damaged petal so I looked around the shop and found this calla. Love to see your dark amaryllis someday.
@Bob & Ken: You are right about the border. Just reflex action and framed it the way I usually do without second thought. A light burgundy color would be much nicer.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on March 28, 2011 at 6:10 PM

So subtle and mysterious. Superb work!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments