Onslow/Richard I love what you did there... And don't tell me all you did is flip my image and crop it??? Doug this is pretty much the whole flower, I cropped off the edges because I didn't want anything in the image that wasn't petals! Both of these images are postworked the original is pretty sharp but not razor sharp. Sharp isn't what I am aiming for though, Margana guessed that right I want the middle defined like what Richard did in post #13, not razor sharp but sharp enough so you can see the detail still and not look like crapola, and then I want the edges to flow into a nice silky, feminine, dreamy kind of image. Geeze did that make any sense??? This time it is Onslow/Richard that got the desired effect. When applying these filters it applies it to the whole image, I haven't figured out how to get the center semi sharp. I am missing something here, I know I am missing something here but I don't know what it is... Now that I look at it, Andreas yours doesn't look too bad either, but see how the center flows in Richard's version? And he didn't even have the original... I am having one hell of a time perfecting this technique so I guess I need to figure out what it is I am missing... I make three layers, one sharpened, one adjusting the hue, saturation and lightness (0, -70 and 0) and the third I apply a guassian blur using a radius of 32.64 (because the size is w 3264 x ??) I think it is, then I blend the layers one by one using whichever setting seems to be giving me the proper "look" I have tried erasing out the edges of the sharper rose but that isn't working either. I am very frustrated with these roses, so frustrated in fact I am on the verge of saying bag it and deleting them all... Yeah, yeah, yeah I know it is easier to shoot with a soft focus filter, but before I buy one of those I am going to frustrate the hell out of myself doing it this way... And I will learn from this... Hmmmmm maybe if I reshoot I should go with a very shallow DOF? maybe that would help??? Brenda :'(

Trying for the softness approach, guess I am just not getting it... :'(

Yes I miss him very much too! I miss his wit and humor! Even though he is gone he is definately not forgotten! I will be sure to keep an eye on PG for his new works. A huge loss to the gallery that is for sure... SALUTE Brenda

Razz you definately have my attention there, that is sooooo cool I love that one too! sigh And Drea I really like number 26, it is my favorite! I am not totally sold on the black and white or the sepia... :) So many choices geeze hard to pick my favorite out of all of these... Brenda :)

Wow!!! Thank you all for including me in your summary of the gallery. I see quite a few that I haven't seen, I wish I could get in here and comment more, but being on dial up and having limited time makes it almost impossible for me to get around with this site crawling lately. I will be sure to check out the beautiful images in this post though. Thanks again! Brenda

Will let you know when I post it my dear! Not for a while yet though I am sure. Still time to play, it isn't ever too late to show what ya did! :) Brenda :)

Drea- number 26 details please???

MISHA!!! I have played with it in both black and white and sepia, love your version in black and white, hmmmm wonder what it would look like soft in black and white or sepia, you guys are giving me all kinds of ideas... regardless what I wind up doing with it, I will probably only post one in the gallery though. Your color version would look much nicer soft Misha! wink-wink Drea OMG!!! What have you done here girl? Love your effects too, Geeze thinking now I need to make a collage of this flower! Your creative mind has taken this rose to limits where I knew it could go, but was clueless how to get it there. Now it is between Richard's version, Simon's second version and Drea's version. I can't decide which I like better... as for Misha's black and white I like the tones there too! And I love Marlene's crop! Wonders how Drea's version would look in black and white or sepia with Marlene's crop? LOL! This is just too much fun!!! Finished uploading today's shoot and ewwwww... looks like this one will be suffer the big delete. I guess that is the beauty of shooting digital eh? OK back to the rose... no worries, I have no intention of deleting this one! :) Brenda :)

Other than a crop Marlene what else did you do? I like the view you created here... off to work on it again... hmmmm! Maybe a nice crop like Marlene's and some nice postwork like Richard's!? Thinking this is day 5 with it, even though I didn't do anything with it last night! sigh Oh yeah and I have some sunscapes to upload to the puter as well, a bit breezy this morning, but will see if I happened to catch anything worthy! Thinking I also need to work on making sure everything is up to date being burned to disc, before wipe my hard drive sighs heavily Brenda :)

Marlene! Do your own thing and show us what YOU would do anyway! I like what you did btw a very cool crop and effect! Shelia and Andreas, sorry it just doesn't look finished to me being sharp, I personally prefer the softer versions, adds much mood to a plain jane rose imo. But don't get me wrong I do appreciate your input, because it makes me realize that we do not all think alike! Maybe I will do two, one each way LOL! It sure would be a boring world if we all liked the same thing! :) LostPatrol and Onslow, I love your second version Simon as well as Richard's crop and postwork. I will play with the settings you all gave me, I work in PSP but I will be able to figure them out as they are very similar, no worries! I have always wanted to do a rose like this, but always get frustrated and wind up deleting it! :( BTW? I have been playing with this thing for four days now LOL! Kort, Thank you for your input and support, glad it isn't just me who prefers a softer image here! :) Thank you all for helping teach me the technique to get this effect, maybe not one I would use very much, but it is something I need to know how to do... I have a pounding headache right now, just took something for it and I am going to lie down will be back later... maybe way later! :-S Brenda :)

It's ok Shelia, I am new at this kind of thing too. I know I don't want it sharp but I am thinking my own version might be too soft... sigh now for real I am off to bed. Brenda :)

Ooooooh Simon! I really like number two! That is beautifully soft! Shelia a nice touch you added there with the color, the "soft" touch is what I am having a hard time perfecting! I have seen many rose images that were "soft" very feminine and full of mood and atmosphere, this is what I am looking for. Anyone else care to give it a whirl? I am open to suggestions. Brenda :)