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Violet Iridescence
Violet Iridescence
giantmike


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Flora At Night (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
Date: Jul 30, 2013
Aperture: 18
ISO: 50
Shutter: 1
Date Uploaded: Jul 30, 2013

 This was taken during technically night. The sun had set past the visible horizon, and all vehicles and streets had lights on. That makes it night to me :)

My son and I went out to a nice garden before his bedtime. I was armed with a very bright flashlight to do some light painting. Of course, when it's not totally dark out yet, light painting is tricky. So I had to use a small aperture to get a long enough shutter (I don't like using ND filters on macro style shots, because those filters take out too much detail). Luckily my 400 lumen flashlight is bright enough to overcome that tiny aperture.

We walked around, finding a few interesting subjects, but I was getting discouraged because the wind (there shouldn't be wind at night!) was moving the flowers around way too much. Then I came across this. Even in the dimly lit environment, I could see the leaves shimmering with natural beauty. So I setup the tripod in what I felt was an interesting composition, and took a number of shots where I painted the foremost leaves.

This one came out the nicest. A little processing was used to block out the background a bit more (but not completely, so that I wouldn't violate the editing rules) The other big thing I did editing wise was dodge the shadows on the leaves caused by the flashlight. The shadows were already soft, but still looked a little like a shadow from an on camera flash. Dodging them reduced their effect, and provides a smoother transition that looks more appealing.

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Post challenge notes.

Thank you all so much for the votes and comments. This is an image my wife said "wow" to when she saw it. Glad many of you had the same reaction. :)

Statistics
Place: 4 out of 43
Avg (all users): 6.7273
Avg (commenters): 7.3333
Avg (participants): 6.1304
Avg (non-participants): 6.9815
Views since voting: 1464
Views during voting: 199
Votes: 77
Comments: 11
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Nikon D7100
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 08/12/2013 03:02:25 PM
amazing colors and textures! good HM!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha NEX-7
Sony Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA
 08/12/2013 12:16:15 PM
9 from me. I thought this was gorgeous and apparently so did a whole lot of other folks.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS
 08/12/2013 12:39:33 AM
I love the colors here Mike. Congrats on HM!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a1 II
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS
 08/12/2013 12:35:40 AM
Love the purples! Congrats on the HM.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 08/12/2013 12:27:19 AM
Wow. Wonderful iridescence!!! Congrats on the HM!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon Canon 1d x Mark II
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 FG HSM Art
 08/12/2013 12:15:22 AM
Nice finish, thanks for my only comment :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-50D
 08/11/2013 05:55:02 PM
Nice colors and details
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D
 08/10/2013 11:01:45 PM
Indeed. Good violets. voted before making this comment - actually long before
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
 08/10/2013 01:12:02 AM
purple is Poppin!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D Mark II
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
 08/07/2013 10:38:12 AM
I absolutely love the detail and vibrancy in this photograph. It's definitely in the top 10 for me, if not, top 5.
Bumping score.
8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300s
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
 08/05/2013 01:34:08 AM
Those purples really popped.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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