I've been itching to make some images around my home, but until today, haven't really had the time. Turns out, this was a perfect opportunity to shoot the various lilies I have growing on the property; the overcast lighting and recent rain really opened up the shadows, reducing contrast yet increasing colour saturation, allowing me to capture very subtle colour changes and intricate detail. All images shot with my wonderful 70mm Sigma f/2.8 macro lens.
Day Lilies in the Backyard
Ornamental Lilies in the the front yard
The front yard is a victim of its own success, especially on the north edge. Irises, lilies, hostas, coral bells, bleeding hearts, wild geranimum are battling each other for space. At some point, things are going to need to move around. The lilies and irises have spread and done very well, essentially crowding out a pretty large hosta. The wild geranium - essentially a weed up here - fills in ANY gaps and it's a constant fight to keep it from taking over the lawn. It's one of the few plants I have no problem ripping out, cutting, or mowing down, because it's virtually unstoppable, otherwise. They are not the focus of this series, but you'll see the occasional puff of pink in the background. Those are the geraniums.
Going for a slight retro look, working with negative Clarity, split toning, and a white vignette. I also used targeted adjustments to beef up the pinks and slightly desaturate the yellows.
Another attempt at split toning. I didn't want yet another green image, and straight black and white just didn't provide the look I was going for. Converted first to b/w, then I added green to the highlights, and blue/cyan to the shadows.
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