This is a photograph that was about to go unnoticed in a folder from March 7, 2014 while I was doing my usual browsing for good shots to post process in Adobe Bridge. Then Global-Photos announced a Photography and Photomanipulation contest about light and this shot suddenly looked very appropriate for the contest's theme thanks to the afternoon sunlight literally going through the petals and making them translucid. I remember taking this photo against the sun's direction on purpose because I wanted my subject to be backlit and look more interesting, which made me think it really was the perfect choice for the LIGHTs contest.
I found difficulties in the post production, by which I mean that first, I had to be extra careful with all the adjustment layers I applied, because most would burn out the highlights and destroy the details in the anemones' petals, which I absolutely wanted to avoid, and second, I couldn't decide how to crop my final picture until I realized a square format was going to look best, also because of the many curves that are present in the image and that lead the viewer's gaze around all the elements in the piece. The flowers themselves have curved stems and I especially love the birch trunk in the background, whose curve goes in the opposite direction, not to mention the soft bokeh and the contrast between the warm tones of the ground and the cold hues of the sky.
Thank you for reading,
Silvia