Digital Manipulation - a before and after image - tulips

I took another  image and using techniques also described in a previous blog enhanced the following:

                   This is my original image which I placed in Photoshop.  I like the image but thought the bit of blue sky to the top right background was distracting and did not need to be there so I decided to  clone over it.

Tulips

I chose the clone tool and a brush size and strength and selected a green spot from the bottom left of the image and started to clone out the blue.  Once I started I worked my way down the bottom right of the image and decided I would also clone over the right white like areas too.  I thought by cloning  all down the right side, to more match in with the background of the left side, the subject would stand out more in the image.  I wanted to leave the reddish hue that seem to come off the flowers though because I liked its affect, giving the flowers a sort of reflected glow.  I selected different tones of green as I worked, trying to create a blend in affect that was not too rigid.  You can see the cloned prints if you look carefully but I decided this was ok as it gave the scene a mottled look that interest , albeit looking like a different texture to the left background, which has a more sheen effect.  I gave a edge look around the flower head as I worked and decided not to try to blend this out, as it emphasises the reflected look of the red.  I now like the image and consider it has more impact than the original.

Reflecting back to the effects I used when converting an image to black and white, I decided to experiment with the colour channels again, this time on a coloured image, rather than a converted black and white one:-

                                                                  

I like this effect because it is more unusual and gives the picture a different feel.

Scarlet Glow

shutter 1/200 aperture f4.0 iso 100 FL 105mm

 I concluded I liked this as the best effect look, because it is in keeping with the original colours, but with the exception of blue, concentrates more on the greens, which as its complementing colour, in turn makes the red more bold.  Also the removal of the blue brightens the background greens making them appear less dull.  It does make the sunlight reflected parts on the petals look yellow instead of white however, and makes the stalks a lime green, but I like this overall look as an effective throw on its natural coloured edited image, Tulips.

I shot Scarlet Glow (Tulips) handheld from the side of someones garden using an evaluative meter mode just after 6pm.  I focussed on the flower petals using the following equipment:

Canon EOS 5D Mark II EF 24-105L IS USM kit
SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash card 8GB 60 MB/s

Output Techniques:
I could download the images onto a CD or memory stick to hand to Steve for presentation on the college gallery web site and television screen.  This media will be showing students work within the college.  I would ensure the file format is 'jpeg' in keeping with this file setting being best for photographs because its compression preserves more detail.