Category: Flora

They should call it “Iris”

Flora Photo Challenges 5 Comments
Purple bearded iris

I think that May is misnamed.

Around here, a better name is “Iris”. Because the iris are blooming in their glory right now. Proving my point: here are just a few bearded ones from walking the pups this week.

Purple and white bearded iris, lit by the morning sun and processed using Topaz Studio 2.
Would you call it variegated or dappled?
Is mauve a purple or a pink?
A mauve beauty with a charming peachy beard.
This is one from my own front yard.
Fifty shades of purple.

I had some fun with Topaz Studio on these. Bearded iris is so beautiful it looks gorgeous with so many different digital art processes. Each of these uses different settings in Topaz Studio 2.

This post is a little late for Brashley Photography’s Floral Friday, but it’s also suitable for Cee’s Flower of the Day: Bearded Iris and Life in Colour: Purple by Travel Words.

On the Life in Colour challenge there has been discussion about the difference between purple and violet. In my experience, the difference between purple and violet often depends on the light, the iris in my yard appears blue-violet at certain times of the day. Different processing plays up the blue (violet is typically seen as more blue than traditional purple).

A Sony RX10Miv took all of these photos (with me attached). I used Raw Therapee, Topaz Studio 2 and the GIMP for processing. For some tips about using Raw Therapee and the GIMP see my page: The photo processing tools on my belt.

Camellia in black and white: “Pink Perfection”

Flora Photo Challenges 1 Comment
A camellia, originally pale pink, converted to black-and-white using Raw Therapee.
“Pink Perfection” in Black-and-White

The name of this camellia is “pink perfection”, but I think it looks good in black and white, especially with the dusting of snow on the leaves. This pale beauty starts to bloom around the beginning of the year and lasts through March. Winter came late this year and the only significant snowfall occurred after the flowers were starting to bloom. I caught this as the snow was starting. Soon afterwards it got thick and we trotted for home.

I took this with my Sony RX10iv camera. Basic settings: F4, 1/80s, focal length 52.8mm (35mm equivalent: 144mm). I converted it into black-and-white using Raw Therapee then cropped and added a vignette in the GIMP. Click here for information about using Raw Therapee’s Black-and-White tool.

Posted for Brashley Photography’s Mid-week Monochrome.

In the original color image there was a bit of discoloration, converting to black and white disguises these.
Original image.

For a flower that bruises and discolors there is an advantage to black and white: it hides some of these imperfections. This pale pink flower shows bruising very easily. For this particular camellia, in black and white you can focus on the shapes and textures without the distraction of the imperfections.

Plum blossom in Black and White

Flora Photo Challenges Photo Processing 1 Comment

For Brashley Photography’s Mid-week Monochrome, a harbinger of spring the plum blossom, in black and white. I guess the raindrops are also a harbinger of spring!

Black and white photo of a plum blossom, converted using Raw Therapee.
Plum blossom in black and white.

This image was taken with my Sony RX10M4: F2.4, 8.8mm, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 1/125s. I processed it in Raw Therapee, then cropped and resized it and added a vignette in the GIMP.

I used Raw Therapee to do the conversion to Black and White. Specifically, the Channel Mixer method in the Black and White tool under the Colors tab. The preset was Absolute ROYGCBPM. Applying a special effect to the magenta and sliding down the green gamma setting. For information about how to use that tool check out this post: Black and White Digital Photo Processing-Part 2: Using Raw Therapee.

Both Raw Therapee and the GIMP are open source software (free!).

Original color image:

Original color image of the plum blossom, which was converted to black and white.

© 2024 K.S. McCormick

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