Inspiring Photo: Freak of Nature #1014390

Freak of Nature

Uploaded: July 08, 2005 02:54:49

Description

Don't you wish they came in this color? Macro hibiscus (pink) taken in full sun, hand held, super macro mode. Appearance altered in PSCS.

Comments

Colleen Braun July 08, 2005

love the blue... #275331

Donna Roberts July 08, 2005

Oh I wish they did *really* come in this intense blue.
You've done a BRILLIANT job of altering the original photo to produce such a gorgeous result Marsha.
Ah well - we can dream that one day it will be a reality (with the help of science).
:-) from 'downunder' #1568685

Donald K. Cherry July 08, 2005

BEautiful macro and effects, Marsha! With the aid of PS, we can have any color of flower that we want...too bad it doesn't work that way in our gardens! #1568687

Diane Dupuis July 08, 2005

Wow - superb Marsha! #1568696

Gail Vitikacs July 08, 2005

STUNNING Marsha! Love the color!!! #1568702

Judy S. Fung July 08, 2005

Beautiful image and work, Marsha!! I love that blue!! #1568714

Kathleen Clemons July 08, 2005

Love what you've done here, Marsha, it's wild! :) #1568723

Tammy Scott July 08, 2005

GORGEOUS color, Marsha! Great effects! #1568732

Donna W. Neal July 08, 2005

Sure caught my eye Marsha, what a stunning color you made this already pretty flower. Very NICE work #1568792

Stephanie Lyons July 08, 2005

The blue is amazing yes ... but the detail that you captured is what catches my eye! So very beautiful Marsha! #1568793

Bobbie Davis July 08, 2005

What a beautiful blue you made this Marsha! Great shot! #1568826

Cathy Gregor July 08, 2005

Absolutely gorgeous macro, Marsha (even without the color change.)
Wonderful PS work! #1568852

Cindy Paquette July 08, 2005

A STUNNER!!! Wow...this is so very gorgeous Marsha! The detail (for hand held!!) is superb! Love the full frame of flaming blue! HIGH FIVER!!! #1568893

Donna J. Taff July 08, 2005

Beautiful image and color, Marsha!!! I'm sure some mad scientist could make them grow this color!!! #1568918

Jill A. Johnson July 08, 2005

Beautiful Work Marsha!!!

Jill :) #1568956

Vicki Hunt July 08, 2005

Goodness me! I just love this! If I could paint the world, it would be this color! Wonderful! #1569008

Carolyn M. Fletcher July 08, 2005

Lovely color change! They should come in this color! Put in a suggestion! #1569022

Karen E. Michaels July 08, 2005

Great all around job with this. I like the angle, composition and color. I have a hard time photographing hibiscus. I envy you. #1569099

Roxanne M. Bubar July 08, 2005

What a magnificent color your have created. #1569136

Agnes Fegan July 08, 2005

Beautiful blue, beautiful work on this flower!!! #1569156

Linda D. Lester July 08, 2005

I put the same flower in today and never thought of changing its color....It would look awesome this color...Great shot, Marsha! #1569272

Joanna Lukrecja Redesiuk July 08, 2005

excellent colors #1569290

Claudia Kuhn July 08, 2005

Nice detail! Cool color! #1569653

Beverley A. Daniels July 08, 2005

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!! #1569706

Laurence Saliba July 08, 2005

Super macro and effects Marsha!!!! #1569869

Joyce ONeil July 08, 2005

Breathtaking image.. #1569871

Kerby Pfrangle July 08, 2005

Martha wonderful macro.

WOW image.

Bet this comes back as a finalist.

Kerby #1569919

Tammy L. Odell July 08, 2005

Beautiful macro shot Marsha!!! #1570044

Murry Grigsby July 08, 2005

Beautiful digital mutation Marsha!! #1570049

Jennifer Rennison July 08, 2005

Fabulous blue, Marsha! Wonderful composition and detail, beautifully done! #1570142

Kara L. Hendricks July 08, 2005

Now that's BLUE!!! WOW! This is gorgeous!!! Wonderful macro Marsha!! #1570443

Lori Carlson July 08, 2005

This is so darn pretty Marsha!!!! Love all the "lines" and of course the colors! Wow! Nice impact! :0) #1570570

Kate Jackson July 08, 2005

There is a surprising lack of blue flowers Marsha. This beautiful one looks like you it could chime! #1570613

Goshka G. July 08, 2005

Strikingly gorgeous, Marsha!! #1570621

Ermanno Radice July 08, 2005

Gorgeous macro, wonderful effects, superb image, Marsha! #1570685

Sandy Landon July 08, 2005

Gorgeous blue!!! Wish they were that color!!! #1570785

Marsha S. Smith July 08, 2005

Wow - thanks so much! For all who mentioned the detail - I learned something new in PS. I had noticed before that b&w images always had more detail than colored. I desaturated it first then used the image/shadow/highlights command to really punch up the contrast to show lots of detail. Then painted/burned/dodged and just got crazy. Used the history brush on the center. I have a rose that really shows this process that I will post before and after one day to show you. #1570898

Mata Patan July 08, 2005

Oh Marsha I have a lot of them growing in my garden...but they are all commons colors! As sometimes I write...Nature doesn't have Photoshop!!! (But we have it!) LOL!
WONDERFUL! #1570910

Sylvia Rossler July 08, 2005

this picture is an eyecatcher !
Wonderful! #1570932

Adilson F. Ferreira July 08, 2005

Fantastic image Marsha!!!
Great colors!!! #1570993

Marsha S. Smith July 08, 2005

Ringraziarla cosí molto! Mata! Photoshop is sooooo much fun, don't you think?

Sylvia and Adilson - I truly appreciate your nice comments and support. #1571283

Jenny Bosmans July 08, 2005

WOW! Stunning, Marsha! BLUE indeed!! Great work! #1571375

Jill Flynn July 08, 2005

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. You've outdone yourself with this one. That BLUE is GORGEOUS and so VIVID. EXELLENT work and capture. WINNER!!! #1571405

Kathleen K. Parker July 08, 2005

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! What good PS work and good clear macro shot. Marsha, will you come recolor all my garden please? :-)
This really lovely!!
kk #1571514

Marsha S. Smith July 08, 2005

Jenny, Jill and KK - thank you all so much. I got kinda carried away while painting! #1571589

Dan Holm July 08, 2005

Looks like a WINNER to me!!! Absolutely gorgeous perspective, shot and effects on this, Marsha!! #1571591

Cathy Stancil July 08, 2005

Such a vibrant eye catching color !! Beautiful Marsha !! #1571626

Wendy Stevenson July 08, 2005

GREAT choice of colour to make your wish come true!! Super image Marsha!!! #1571633

Steve Mescha July 08, 2005

Great shot, Marsha, and excellent editing! You could get a job with a garden catalog. Have you ever noticed that all the so called blue flowers in the catalogs have been tweaked to look like this! We ordered Blue Rose of Sharon this year that looked just like your photo. Needless to say, the blossoms are purple :-) #1571637

Cathy Barrows July 08, 2005

i love this...i love blue flowers so this would be so cool #1571663

Nobu Nagase July 08, 2005

So brilliant,
So rich!!!
...looks like it's a Heavenly Blue (morning glory) wannabe... :D... #1571680

Laura Clay-Ballard July 08, 2005

gorgeous shade of blue you chose! love it! #1571765

Daniel Diaz July 08, 2005

Stunning flower here Marsha simply Gorgeous!!!! #1571774

Terry L. Ellis July 08, 2005

Wonderful work, Marsha! Truly wonderful! #1571851

Terry R. Hatfield July 08, 2005

That Would Be Nice Marsha!!Excellent Editing:-) #1571916

Marsha S. Smith July 08, 2005

Steve - I know what you mean. I see shows on gardening where they talk about a blue iris or a blue this or that and all of them look purple to me.
Thanks everyone - this image got a whole lot more attention than I had expected - I guess blue really is the color most people consider their favorite! #1572020

S J July 08, 2005

AWESOME image, Marsha!!! Fantastic PS work!!! WOW!!!!!!! #1572333

Marsha S. Smith July 09, 2005

Thanks SJ - Feels great to hear that from 'one of the masters'! :D #1572667

KHAWLA Haddad July 09, 2005

Marsha such outstanding image love your PS Work on this its truly Gorgeous love it well don!!!!!
#1573429

Connie J. Turner July 09, 2005

Wow! I love the name and the color. I bet this one took awhile with the pollen thing! Great work! #1573568

Julie Abston July 09, 2005

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL, Marsha!!!!! You have turned a beautiful image into a stunning image! Excellent job. Looks like a winner to me!!!! #1573643

Kay E. Mahoney July 09, 2005

Beautiful!!!!! Love the color change you did. Software programs are great. It's fun to get new results with them. #1573881

Amanda Price July 09, 2005

Gorgeous shot and effects! Well done!! #1574158

Marsha S. Smith July 09, 2005

Kelly, Connie, Julie, Kay and Amanda - thank ya'll so much for all the nice comments. #1574227

Karen Engelbreth July 10, 2005

Beautiful blue - love it, Marsha! #1575555

cj patterson July 10, 2005

gorgeous blue marsha! wow! #1576142

Marsha S. Smith July 10, 2005

Thanks CJ and Karen - just wishful thinking on my part. #1576522

Donna La Mattino Pagakis July 10, 2005

This image pops right off the screen, great colors!! #1578070

Marsha S. Smith July 10, 2005

Thanks Donna, just my imagination going crazy! #1578175

Jane Summa July 10, 2005

GORGEOUS, Marsha! Excellent editing! Yup..I LOVE that blue! Awesome detail..I tried to follow all that you did..thanks for the info :-)! #1578385

Dolores Neilson July 11, 2005

I like this alot, Marsha. The blue is very eye catching..and the pistil/stamen in gold really pops! Nice one! #1582025

Marsha S. Smith July 11, 2005

Thanks Jane and Dolores - this was pure fun! #1582629

Melissa L. Zavadil July 12, 2005

Marsha this is just gorgeous! I love the blue too. I have two blue bell rose of sharon trees in my yard they are blue but they are not this intense. I just soak them in PH they are like hydrangeas they need a lot of acid to get their color! Another thing that helps them to stay blue is if you put cuttings of your hair (when you get a hair cut) at the base of the plant.

Sorry, I love gardening... can you tell????? I might have just gotten a little carried away with that explaination! Anyway this is a winner in my book!! #1586515

Marsha S. Smith July 13, 2005

Thanks Melissa! I actually have a lace cap hydrangea that I have thought about trying that with. My soil must be more alkaline because the flowers are pink - when I took the cutting from a friends bush several years ago her flowers were vivid blue. I have heard if you use Epsom salts it makes the soil acidy, but haven't actually tried it. #1586748

Stanley J. Contrades July 13, 2005

As one who lives with hibiscus growing just outside my front and back doors, you can imagine how this caught my eye, Marsha :-)!! Am sure that one day you'll see blue (my favorite color!)hibiscus considering that hybrids already contain black and gray!!
Stunning color and excellent details on this gorgeous beauty!!
Much Aloha,
Stan #1588711

Marsha S. Smith July 13, 2005

Thanks Stan - that means a lot coming from the man who shoots such gorgeous florals. Since blue is your favorite color - consider this a belated dedication to you! #1588815

Margot Petrowski July 18, 2005

Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!! #1608819

Marsha S. Smith July 19, 2005

Thank you sooo much Margot! #1609029

Mary N C. Taitt July 19, 2005

Utterly gorgeous shot! Love the colors. And the sharpness and composition. You have lots of lovely pictures! Mary #1611049

Marsha S. Smith July 19, 2005

Thanks so much Mary. I jumped over to your gallery - very, very nice. I like that you like to shoot a variety of different kinds of images and that you like to manipulate them afterwards. My favorite is the irridescent butterflies on the quartz - just gorgeous. #1611069

Adrianna Province July 19, 2005

Stunning color Marsha! Beautiful job! #1611216

Marsha S. Smith July 19, 2005

Thanks so much, Adrianna! #1611410

Tammy Scott August 20, 2005

Congratulations on your gorgeous finalist, Marsha!!! #1740355

Jill Flynn August 20, 2005

Congratulations on this beautiful finalist Marsha! #1740951

Margot Petrowski August 20, 2005

CONGRATS....this is stunning!!!!!!!!!!!! #1741096

Kathleen K. Parker August 20, 2005

So glad to see this got a finalist...very well deserved,too. Congrats, Marsha!
kk #1741363

Marsha S. Smith August 20, 2005

Thanks so much! I was afraid it was a bit 'over the top', but I guess that electric blue just caught their eyes and didn't put them out! LOL #1741568

KHAWLA Haddad August 20, 2005

Congratulations on Wonderful finalists,Marsha!!! #1742138

Cathy Barrows August 20, 2005

Congrats on your finalist!...fantastic #1742183

Terry L. Ellis August 20, 2005

Marsha...CONGRATULATIONS on your wonderful finalist!! #1742377

Melissa L. Zavadil August 20, 2005

Congratulations on your wonderful finalist!! #1742543

Cathy Stancil August 20, 2005

Congratulations Marsha !!! :O) #1743692

Donna Roberts August 21, 2005

I *knew* this would be a finalist!!!
Congrats Marsha!!
:-) dddu #1744400

Tom Andersen August 21, 2005

Congratulations on this beautiful finalist, Marsha! #1745202

S J August 21, 2005

Congratulations on this gorgeous Finalist, Marsha!! #1745592

Jim Kinnunen August 21, 2005

Congratulations, Marsh!!! #1746303

Marsha S. Smith August 21, 2005

Thank you all so very much! This one was a lot of fun to do. #1747224

Jennifer Rennison August 21, 2005

Another big congratulations, Marsha!! #1747292

Nobu Nagase August 21, 2005

Congratulations, Marsha!!! #1747374

DiAnna F. Paulk August 21, 2005

Beautiful finalist, Marsha. Congratulations and a belated thank you for commenting on my "Summer Setting." I didn't know any comments were there until today! #1748258

Marsha S. Smith August 22, 2005

Thank you so much! #1750501

Judy S. Fung August 22, 2005

Congrats, Marsha! #1753009

Marsha S. Smith August 22, 2005

Thanks so much, Judy! #1753353

Carol Brill August 22, 2005

Congratulations on this absolutely stunning finalist, Marsha! #1753932

Marsha S. Smith August 23, 2005

Thanks so much, Carol! #1754453

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