Capturing the Color of Love (D248)

Tasra Dawson —  May 6, 2010 — 5 Comments

What color do you think of when you think of love? Red, right?

Today when I thought of color, which is our Theme Thursday, I was drawn to the beautiful red rose my husband gave me this morning (he’s incredible, I know… if you read my “Feeling Anything but Bubbly” post yesterday, you can probably figure out why he got it for me). The rose is a brilliant red with deep green leaves and white baby’s breath. I figured it was the perfect subject for my color photo today.

THE POWER OF COLOR
Since I really wanted the red to pop in the picture, I put a white background underneath the glass vase, rose, and baby’s breath. Then I shot with the 85 mm f/1.8 to get some beautiful bokeh. When I brought it into Photoshop, I just couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do with it. The strong contrast of the red overpowered the picture and was all I saw. So I got rid of the color by converting the image to black and white. Ironic since today’s theme is color.

PLAYING BY THE RULES
For some reason, I couldn’t resist creating a black and white version… maybe it’s the rebel in me that refused to play by the rules. Or maybe I did play by the rules… my own rules for what color means.

What is the color of love? I think love is color blind.

tasra365 single rose Capturing the Color of Love (D248)

CREATING THE IMAGE
I processed the image using Kubota actions: BW 100 Red and Smokeless Burn, then played with the settings to bring back some of the darkness. I added a frame that I picked up at JessicaSprague.com in her Freebies section. Fantastic site with tutorials, training and digital products.

FREE LIGHTROOM PRESETS
For those who asked where I got my Gavin Seim Lightroom Presets, they are on his website in a few different articles. You’ll want to read the articles and then you’ll see the links to download various presets. I love them and use them frequently in my processing.

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Tasra Dawson

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Author, designer, photographer, teacher... just an artistic curious girl learning to live insanely great and sharing what I learn along the way.

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  • simplykuni

    I almost did the same thing by going B&W just to do the exact opposite but decided not to at the last minute. Great minds think alike! :) I like the high-key look. The frame is a good finishing touch too.

    • http://tasra365.com tasra

      Creative minds think alike too – not wanting to be boxed in. :-)

  • Judy Knesel

    Ok, this is at least twice we've done something along the same lines. I did a b/w today too. Mine however was black to begin with. I did think about giving it some ethereal color but changed my mind.
    Hope the rose made you feel better.

    • http://tasra365.com tasra

      That's so cool… it's like our creative 365 minds are melding. :-)