Pacific Madrone Buds: 44th Flower of Spring!

[best appreciated at full size against black]

While walking along our ridge line, I found some budding madrone blossoms, and I was surprised because I'd never noticed them before! When the time came to work on this picture, I started running into problems. I really liked the depth of field but the colors were all too similar and lacked impact. This is when I start playing with filters to see if an idea comes to mind. I was looking through Topaz Lab's "Lens Effects" suite (highly recommended filters!!!) when I found a Toy filter that changed the image to black and white. BAM! That was it! Suddenly the flowers popped out and the image became dramatic and interesting! If you ever feel like you want to give up on a picture that seems to have some potential, take a walk through your filter library and odds are you'll find something to push you in the right direction! :)

This image was taken in April, 2012.