Loco Weed

I have always been fascinated by the Jimson Weed flower, aka Loco

Weed, so called because of it's hallucinogenic effect on the animal

that eat it. While on a photographic trip with my buddy Chris Harris,

I got my chance to finally photograph them. We were Chiricahua

National Monument photographing Faraway Ranch at dawn when I spotted

a small bunch of Jimson Weed. The sun was not completely up and the

flowers were enveloped in the soft dawn light. Many of the leaves were

full of holes and to me took away from the beauty of the floral

composition. After making color and contrast adjustments, I duplicated

the layer, made it a smart object, and then added Gaussian Blur and

set it at a value of 50. The smart object allows me to go back and

make changes with very little hassle. By then adding a mask, I

selected what would be in focus and to what degree. I also used the

high blur value to hind the holes in the leaves I will include the

original so that you will be able to see exactly how the mask was

used. Your comments and questions are always welcome.

I have attached the original raw file for comparison. To see details better, it's best to view large.

Amazing result!  Thanks for sharing the original.  It helps people understand the possibilities for photos that are technically well done, but less than inspiring.

What an amazing transformation from the original!  Beautiful work, Leo!  And as always, thanks for the explanation.

Well done!  This has a special ethereal feel to it; almost as though the flower and leaves are floating in space.  The subdued lighting and colors really contribute to the mood of the image too.  Thanks for sharing the camera raw image too; it just goes to show what your processing skills are.  Cheers!  Chris

Very beautiful floral work and I like the lighting here and the tone, wishing you all of the best.

Sure glad you put both of these on PN.  Quite a dramatic change between the two shots.  Absolutely awesome processing Maestro...Lefty

Admirable work!

Interesting idea,regards.