Rejoice!

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.”

– Eleanora Duse

Processing Edits

My blogger friend, Julie Lawson, recently had a post in which she presented one image with three different “edits.” Frequently I find myself torn on which “editing” direction to zone in on and, like Julie, do a great deal of experimenting.

You can check out Julie’s entry by clicking this link: http://julielawsonphotography.com

This tiny little daisy-like flower is a perfect example of what I go through when working with an image.

It was taken in my neighbor’s yard on a hot Sunday afternoon. My neighbor’s patio planter was abounding with these tiny yellow beauties. The flower is probably about the size of a nickel. As you probably are learning about me, I prefer to focus on a single subject and almost always use the 100 mm macro lens.

The Tiny Yellow Flower

The Tiny Yellow Flower - Soft and Faded

The Tiny Yellow Flower - "Moody" black and white

My dilemma at this point is which, if any, of the edits do I keep? Each edit, in my opinion, has something I am drawn to and each edit presents a different mood or impression.

Many readers of this blog are photographers. How do YOU decide when an edit is a finished product? How do YOU decide which direction to take? What makes one image stand out over another in YOUR eyes?

I’d love to hear your comments.