digital manipulation, flowers, using Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro

Not a great photo but I decided to play with it in Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro

The original photo - a sunny day so high contrast against the background, taken with a close up filter (10x magnification)

The oriental poppies are starting to open, I can't see the dramatic centres clearly yet but they'll soon open.

The first image is the untouched photograph

This one is a combination of the original and the black and white version below, only a subtle difference but moodier? a little more dreamlike?.

Black and white version

I simply pasted the black and white version on top of the coloured version and used multiply in the layer options - then tweaked the colour a little using the hue and saturation, levels and contrast.


And on the final one I duplicated the layer in the black and white image and used edge effects, dodge and burn a bit, and upped the contrast.

Each programme has tools that I like - but oh Corel can be slooooow! and it isn't a matter of my computer speed/memory because Photoshop doesn't. Does anyone else have that problem?

more spring flowers

early spring flowers in the garden

There are signs of spring in the garden after a rather vicious winter that killed off some plants so I nipped out with the camera on macro setting.

Mini daffodils, hyacinth, winter pansies and wild violets that self set everywhere - I love them and have a running battle to stop my husband pulling them out as weeds. 90% of the winter pansies died in that awful weather before Christmas :>(

Glacial caves

Look at this link for some amazing photos by Eric Guth of a cave deep inside a glacier

aren't they beautiful?

Resident tiger was very very jealous of new black kitten - doesn't it just show?

shame it was a bit out of focus

A bigger splash

A bigger Splash, Vivien Blackburn

I don't think I've shown this one before here?

evening light, January

Winter fields in evening light - skies are so gorgeous in the early morning and evening.