I like to think a flower opens itself to outgrow its plantedness. That it yearns to be carried away. ~Author Unknown
FOCUS: Nature
The daylilies in my garden are blooming with flamboyant peach flowers atop long graceful stems. It is such a shame that each bloom only lasts for a day, but I suppose it is this fleeting beauty that makes them all the more special. I set out today to capture the beauty and grace of these garden gems.
Technical Note: Although it appears I used a studio setup for this image, I actually took this photo outside in natural light. The day was overcast and the lily was in the shadow of a tree near a grey weathered fence. I used a combination of low aperture, spot metering, and a polarizing filter to help darken the background in camera. Then, I further enhanced the dark background in post-processing by using the Curves and Burn tools in PS to really isolate the lily in the frame. Below is the ‘before’ image for comparison.
Beth Poe :: FreeForm 
Wonderful job! Thank you for describing your steps in processing the image! It is certainly beautiful. I love the quote too!
Thank you so much! I love to learn from the techniques of others, so I thought I should share my own ‘tricks’ every now and then :-).