Pictures for Pam, Day 24: Black Dahlia

(Looks best large on black, there is also 1 inset)

Waking up this morning I couldn't help but think about how dark it was. This time of the year is so odd because if you get up at about 7am like I do, it's almost completely dark! (Medford, Oregon is at latitude: 42.3265° N, 122.8756° W) I suppose I shouldn't complain...our sunrise is at 7:23 right now whereas if you lived in London, it's 7:46! The horror!) In any event, not turning on lights isn't an option unless I'd like to risk a stubbed toe!

I had to laugh as I got ready to go out today. Last night I checked the weather: "The forecast for tomorrow will be a low of 24°F with a high chance of snow." Looking out over our meadow and appreciating the Upper Table Rock which peeked out above a blanket of fog, I could see only a few clouds in the lightening sky. It promised to be a beautiful day. Snow...HAH! (Funny how the forecast was changed to a sunny day the next time I looked!)

During my walk today I thought about all the fun I'd been having with my pictures. I've been processing images in my archives with a focus on the magnificent collection of dahlia pictures I took at the Conservatory of Flowers in 2016. The bummer is that most of the pictures have issues which require painstaking processing. If the blossoms aren't covered in flecks of dirt, the backgrounds are a disaster. Plant labels, stakes, watering hoses, crowding flowers...ugh! I'd only processed a few before giving up in dismay...so much work!

But the truth is, these flowers are worth the effort. Their beauty is totally outrageous. I got very good focus on most subjects (though I got plenty of garbage shots too). It would be horrible to not take the time to work on these pictures, and finally I'm in the right state of mind to tackle at least a chunk of them.

I didn't even SEE this one until I was moving through my images and this flower popped up on the screen. HOLY COW!!! I forgot about the black dahlia!!! I remember the moment I saw it at the Conservatory, so excited I could hardly contain myself. Except...it was so far away!!! The few flowers sat far back from the fencing and I stalked back and forth hoping that somehow I could get closer. There was no way. If I wanted a picture, it was going to be at a distance. Well, at least I'd have pictures, and perhaps they would come out ok, but I didn't think so.

The good news is that I had crisp focus and I'd be able to fill my standard canvas size of (short side = 1024 pixels) x (whatever size). The flower didn't need too much dirt removal either, yay! The bad news was … omg...the background. I'm including an inset to show the original picture I took so you can see what I had to work with.

The only way I could present this flower would be to replace the background completely. This would mean a bunch of blended texture files to showcase the blossom without being overpowering. This process takes a lot of time. I usually have to stop after a while because I get frustrated with creating the effect that works for me, but eventually I land on something that looks right. When I was done, I sat back and smiled because this rare gem was ready to share with the world. I hope that you like it!

Pam, I hope that you had a nice and restful weekend. I hope the weather there isn't too stormy, but I bet it's very cold, just like here. Let's hope that you'll find improvement and more progress in your recovery this coming week. *big hugs* from our chilly home to yours!

Explored on 12/3/18, highest placement, #3.