Shell of it's former self

[jckegley]

I took this photograph on one of my canoe camping adventures in the Okefenokee Swamp. It is a water lily taken at high sun. ‘Yuck!’ The original photo is pretty bad, the colors are washed out and the highlights are on the edge. I really didn’t think it was even worth the effort, but my attempt at trying to reveal some details exposed some other options for the photo.

I adjusted the midtone level (heavily), sharpened (heavily), then cropped. All of a sudden the photo was palatable or at least pleasant.


Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (http://www.wildlifesouth.com/Locations/Georgia/Okefenokee.html)

[rpk717]

WOW Joe, this is great. I love how the lilies contrast against the dark background. Certainly not like the shots I take at mid-day. If you still have it I would love to see the original image and how it compares to this artistic shot.

[jckegley]

Here's the original... pretty bad. Actually I can barely look at it. I have a couple like this taken in that series. It was the wrong time of day... plus the rocking in the canoe. But I was there and I take what opportunities I have. The is one of my better salvage jobs... usually I am unable to extract anything usable from something like this. I think the sun hitting the lily from above and the translucent properties of the pedals made for the 'candle in the middle of the flower' effect.

[rpk717]

Joe, it's hard to believe you pull this off. I'm impressed of your abilities and the abilities of Photoshop to make this transition. Thanks for the demonstration. :eek:

[jckegley]

I really can't take credit for my photoshop skills, that was purely blind luck. I was trying to enhance the photo but instead created a different image. I have tried the same technique on other photos with no success. This was just a lucky situation with the right photograph.

[dholstein]

Joe - what a finish from ichy :) I always like it when you have a black background with flora.

[Photobiologist]

Great salvage! Thanks too for sharing the "before" image. I like the result.