Cactus & Salad

I installed the CS4 yesterday but today used Bridge CS4 with Photoshop CS3 to process these photos. Having the choice between CS3 and CS4 is a nice touch.

Yesterday's photos were unimpressive but they allowed me to shoot some more with the 50 mm lens on the D20, compare outputs with the zoom lens on the D5, and experiment with unusual adjustments on Ph CS3.

The first two images are straightforward narrow-aperture photos with the D5. I am still learning to use the contrast adjustment, something I am sure most photographers don't even consider. I'm a tyro at this. I like how the adjustment can sometimes make the image pop out.

The first Christmas cactus image was taken with the D5. I had to take it from a distance but didn't use flash for it. I reduced the exposure some more in Ph CS3 and increased contrast and black levels to darken the background and reveal the veins on the petals.

I took the last two images with the 50 mm lens, again without flash, again adjusting exposure and black levels to make the background darker. I had always admired close-ups of flowers against a dark background. I didn't know I could do this very simply in Photoshop.