When I looked at this Raw file for the first time, I was disappointed. It wasn't at all what I remembered: two lilies illuminated by diffuse morning light, almost floating above inert, gray litter. So I worked the file as much I could in ACR and then used a few of Tony Kuyper's masks, including Basic Midtones and Make-it-glow. Still not satisfied, I tried Marc Adamus' amazing glow technique (for the first time) and I got what I wanted.
There are millions of lilies in bloom at the Leavenworth Ski Hill right now, as well as Spring Beauty. And the Balsamroot and other flowers are about to begin...
While I like the "glow" effect and the lighting on the lilies I think there are too many distracting elements in this, particularly the decaying plant coming down from the top and partially obscuring one of the petals.....
Aren't Glacier Lillies white? These look like Fawn Lillies to me. Either way, nice to see the more prominent flowers are starting to pop. I find the backdrop to be too distracting in this one. The glow works but it seems maybe a little too subtle. I think what I'd have done is mask out the flowers, drop the contrast and darken the background substantially so it almost looks like the flowers are against a matte black backdrop.
Ah, Glacier Lillies! Fantastic yellow-- wow. The rest of the stuff in the frame overwhelms the beauty of the flowers.
FYI to Bryan, I ran into this question last year. When I perused my wildflower guides, I was surprised to find there are many colors of Glacier lillies. The ones I had shot were kind of a lavender color.
Posted by Marc Dilley on April 10, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Well... I wanted to depict the scene as I came upon it, but apparently it hasn't worked. Thanks for the critiques, much appreciated!
Posted by John Williams on April 10, 2009 at 12:24 PM
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it Marc. I really like the lilies. I agree with Bryan and Catherine, but I think it could easily be fixed by darkening the background (I'd leave the flowers and green plants as is). Because the colors are so different, you should be able to do this rather easily with Blend If sliders, and I think it would really add to the floating effect you saw.
Posted by Cliff Dodge on April 10, 2009 at 7:43 PM
Pretty pretty. A cloning of the stick and black line below it in the upper left may keep the eye from going to them. :)
Posted by David Schoen on April 10, 2009 at 8:35 PM
I like the effect on the flowers. What about a graduated darker vignette effect to count other criticisms.
Posted by Marc Dilley on April 10, 2009 at 9:54 PM
Again, thanks for the ideas. I will consider them all and give this a second look.
Discussion
10 repliesThere are millions of lilies in bloom at the Leavenworth Ski Hill right now, as well as Spring Beauty. And the Balsamroot and other flowers are about to begin...
Sony R1, 1/6 sec @ f/16
FYI to Bryan, I ran into this question last year. When I perused my wildflower guides, I was surprised to find there are many colors of Glacier lillies. The ones I had shot were kind of a lavender color.