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Frosted Berries
Frosted Berries
giantmike


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2012-12 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-50D
Lens: Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Location: Verona, WI
Date: Dec 23, 2012
Aperture: 7.1
ISO: 800
Shutter: 1/160
Date Uploaded: Dec 16, 2012

 What a month!!! My best month of photography in such a long time. And much of it happened just because I get up early when the air is chilly and the sun is below the horizon. I ended up taking at least a dozen photos I would hang on my wall.

This one came late in the month, and is probably the 4th or 5th image I uploaded for the free study. I had some cracking landscapes, but this macro with absolutely PERFECT snow flakes blows me away. Especially since the morning was windy, and I had to use a rather small aperture to make sure to get all of the flakes in focus. What's funny is I took two shots about 10 seconds apart. On the second (this one), a new perfect snowflake fell on the right berry, making the composition 100 times better.

Used Topaz DeNoise to clean up the background before using the new Topaz Detail 3 to really enhance the details. Topaz has a hit with this new version. I stopped using version 2 because I wasn't liking the results. But this version has a much better algorithm that creates images that look more natural, and I have found it to really make my images pop.

Statistics
Place: 22 out of 189
Avg (all users): 6.3796
Avg (commenters): 7.7273
Avg (participants): 6.3778
Avg (non-participants): 6.3830
Views since voting: 648
Views during voting: 230
Votes: 137
Comments: 17
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 01/08/2013 09:17:32 PM
Congrats on a great image and a great finish!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/08/2013 02:29:04 PM
Congratulations Mike! I gave you a 9 for this wonderful image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/08/2013 12:31:17 PM
Congratulations on a very nice finish and an excellent capture and month, Mike.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/08/2013 07:38:51 AM
I was one of your 9's Mike...I really like this shot and was hoping to see it on the front page..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/08/2013 01:48:02 AM
Stunning clarity. 9.
I've just upgraded from Topaz Labs Detail 2 to 3 as well. Will give it a bash soon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/07/2013 11:36:04 PM
I keep coming back to this one; love the detail in the snowflakes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/07/2013 10:20:34 PM
wow, snowflakes. great macro.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/07/2013 09:28:34 PM
Fantastic patterns here - some of these crystals don't look real (and that's a compliment - they look carefully crafted). Voted earlier.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/07/2013 07:47:27 PM
Beautiful details. The snow flakes are quite nice and add an immense amount to the image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/06/2013 05:51:05 PM
Amazing macro. Love the snowflakes. VWD.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/03/2013 08:18:00 PM
This is an absolutely splendid macro! Beautiful capture and great work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2013 09:57:56 AM
hahaaaaaah. beautiful crystals forming on them but it makes my gonads cold.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2013 01:37:01 AM
WOW, love that snow flake on the right berry well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/01/2013 06:04:58 PM
I love that you can see individual snowflakes on the berries - fabulous!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/01/2013 05:35:04 PM
Amazing details and sharpness on those ice formations...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/01/2013 11:22:02 AM
I love the crystals!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/01/2013 08:31:46 AM
Wonderful details and textures in the frost
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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