I believe the picture explains the title of this blog entry…
Photographed using a Nikon D7000 with a Sigma f/2.8 105mm macro lens (f/5.0, 1/800). Selectively converted dull green background to black in Adobe Lightroom 4.4
The tulips came and went really quickly this year.. At least I managed to capture a few with my camera.
Photographed using a Nikon D7000 and post-processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.4
Do photographs look better when selectively colored? Selective coloring involves painfully desaturating a picture to leave only the portions that need highlighting. There are many ways to desaturate a photograph, and I use Adobe Lightroom adjustment brush to remove colour from portions of a picture. The pictures below show both the original picture and my selectively colored version. Which one do you prefer?
One method of removing colors from a picture is by desaturating color groups. In the picture below, I removed all the greens, blues and yellow. This has the desired effect of making all the leaves and sky become monochrome while leaving just the flowers with color.
The above makes the picture look a little artificial due to removal of the yellow-green components from the petals too, as well as with other flowers in the background showing through the foliage. I then attempted to use the adjustment brush to remove all color from the picture except for the two flowers in the foreground (as below).
Personally I’m pleased with my selective desaturation as this brought out the vibrant colors of the flower, which were otherwise lost in the bright greens of the leaves and the blue of the sky.
Technical Details: Nikon D80 with Tamron 18-250mm f3.5/6.3 Lens 1/640 f/8.0 55mm Location: Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam Processed with Adobe Lightroom 4.1
October gets over today, and cold rain and winds lash Cambridge. The nights come early. In the midst of all this, a single rose valiantly blooms for the last time in 2012.
Technical Details:
Nikon D80 with external Speedlight SB-600 flash Tamron 18-250 f/3.6-6.3 Lens 1/60 at f/6.0 130mm ISO200 Post-processed using Adobe Lightroom 4.1
The last two days I’ve strolled out at lunch time with just my iPhone. This, of course, is not the best camera in the world but it is handy. Here are a few pictures from the iPhone.
The skies in the picture below were dramatically darker than seen here. I did try to post-process this picture to enhance the black but not too successfully.
The common ivy – possibly the best signal that autumn has arrived. The vibrant reds and oranges highlight and make even the most drab of buildings come to life!!
Other leaves are also changing colour at this time of the year. Soon everything will be barren.
But there is always light at the end of the tunnel 🙂
All these images were touched-up in the iPhone Snapseed app.
Wallflowers (Erysimum) are small perennial shrubs that produce flowers in the yellow-red range. This one is an early bloomer in my garden.
Juridicious 