Something different ...

... at least for me, it is an unplanned departure from what I normally would have considered doing. I appreciate all C&C.

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I would recommend a little more DOF, and then the reduced color will take care of directing attention to the focal point.
I really like the idea though.

I like it

This would make a great promo card. Lots of positive impact from a design and an image POV.

That technique works.

Stocky wrote in post #5483772
I would recommend a little more DOF, and then the reduced color will take care of directing attention to the focal point.
I really like the idea though.

Thanks for the comment, Stocky. I agree. I just got a new macro lens and wanted to get some flower shots, but the conditions were not ideal with the wind blowing and overcast sky. Today is bright and sunny so I will have an opportunity to stop down the lens to try for a better shot.

tim1960 wrote in post #5483865
I like it

Thanks, Tim.

LBaldwin wrote in post #5483888
This would make a great promo card. Lots of positive impact from a design and an image POV.

Thanks, LBaldwin. See the rest of the story below.

chauncey wrote in post #5483955
That technique works.

Thanks, Chauncey.

THE REST OF THE STORY:
My wife walked into my office while I was processing my macro images and said, "I like what you did to that picture of the salvia".
I replied that what she was seeing was the crop box in Photoshop where the part to be cropped away is behind a semi-transparent gray mask. She said that she liked it anyway and that it reminded her of some Japanese art that she had seen recently. So, now that I had my marching orders, I proceeded to implement her suggestion. I was curious to see what others thought about the idea.

Isn't it great when you find something cool by accident? We see the crop tool shading so often that we filter it out as noise, not inspiration for a new look.

I like it. It's definitely going to make me look at things differently when I'm working with PS. As LeuceDuece said, sometimes the coolest things get easily overlooked.

LeuceDeuce wrote in post #5485185
Isn't it great when you find something cool by accident? We see the crop tool shading so often that we filter it out as noise, not inspiration for a new look.

justincase724 wrote in post #5485362
I like it. It's definitely going to make me look at things differently when I'm working with PS. As LeuceDuece said, sometimes the coolest things get easily overlooked.

That's so true! I just saw it as part of a tool to get a specific task done. Since my wife is not familiar with PS, when she saw the image on the monitor, it had a completely different impression and an idea for something different.

I like the idea, it works.
The image appears a little too saturated for me.. also agree on the DOF comment.
Looking from here there appears to be some artifact around the edge of the red petals but this could very easily be down to the JPEG converstion to post it.
Nice original presentation all the same.

Thank you for your very helpful comments, Peter. Yes, it does appear very saturated, but it is interesting because I actually desaturated the reds by a considerable amount. In the original image, the reds glowed like a traffic light. My guess is that this particular shade of red must be at the peak of the sensor's red sensitivity. I did boost the green slightly to try to balance the intensity of the colors. The reds in this variety of salvia are really iridescent.

I sometimes receive comments that the colors in my photos are too muted so I suppose that I should take consolation that maybe I have finally managed to bracket the intensity of colors in my images. Now, I need to find a happy medium.

I think that the artifact you see if from motion blur. It was a cloudy windy day so the shutter speed was somewhat low and it was difficult to get a shot where the flowers weren't moving. Today was a very bright sunny day, so I did a retake of most of the things that I shot yesterday. Unfortunately, the green anole lizard failed to show up for his portrait sitting appointment.

I think it works very well. I was pleasantly surprised the moment I scrolled through it. In a different height/width ratio this type of thing would work nicely as greeting card/post card material.

Mark

bill boehme wrote in post #5488417
Thank you for your very helpful comments, Peter. Yes, it does appear very saturated, but it is interesting because I actually desaturated the reds by a considerable amount. In the original image, the reds glowed like a traffic light. My guess is that this particular shade of red must be at the peak of the sensor's red sensitivity. I did boost the green slightly to try to balance the intensity of the colors. The reds in this variety of salvia are really iridescent.

Wow that has to be a flower to see first hand

I sometimes receive comments that the colors in my photos are too muted so I suppose that I should take consolation that maybe I have finally managed to bracket the intensity of colors in my images. Now, I need to find a happy medium.

Yes i know what you mean about this, i have the same dilema when i PP, with me it seems to vary with the time of day or what kind of mood i might be in.
Often finish a picture, change it, then change it back again....Ho Hum.

I think that the artifact you see if from motion blur. It was a cloudy windy day so the shutter speed was somewhat low and it was difficult to get a shot where the flowers weren't moving. Today was a very bright sunny day, so I did a retake of most of the things that I shot yesterday. Unfortunately, the green anole lizard failed to show up for his portrait sitting appointment.

Cant trust those pesky Lizards.