Irises: Andrew 23 06 15

We went to the RBG, Laking Gardens a couple of days ago. They have peonies and irises at that garden, mostly out in the open in large beds. It is not easy to get close to some of the blooms. Below are a few of the more unusual irises they had. Note that it was well past peak season as we were late getting there this year unfortunately. There will be several more posts from this visit. The processing on these (the backgrounds) is not optimal and I could likely do better but the time involved would be a few hours. I need software that has better selection tools than PSP to speed up this process. PSP can do as good a job as other processors but it takes a lot of time and meticulous work to do the selection.

Andrew

Dang, I meant to get back there this year a couple of times for spring flowering season, but never got around to it. That third iris is a real beauty.

Thanks Fred.

We were going to go to the arboretum, but the weather was not great. By the time we could go, we had missed the cherries and magnolias. Lilacs are nice but the smells trigger allergic reactions so we try to avoid them or view them from a distance.

At least you have all summer to visit Hendrie and the Rock gardens where there will be lots of blooms for the remainder of the year. Perhaps a trail walk at Cootes to see the eagles with young in the nest.

Andrew

Lovely Iris Andrew. Well shot and your processing looks fine to me. I don't mind seeing a little background in the photos.

I see Adobe is offering a free trial of Lightroom + Photoshop so you could test out their AI selection and Generative replacement tools.

The backgrounds look fine to me; in fact I prefer the ones with the blurry foliage to the one with the stark black background.

Lynne

Thanks Jim and Lynne. I do not mind the backgrounds of the one’s with foliage. The one filled with black had too much other stuff in it and I did not have a suitable replacement background for it. The others had some things removed but that was doable without a lot of effort. The third one has major tells regarding its selection. Perhaps I can shoot a background and improve it.

The Ai Generative fill would be a treat!
Andrew

Nice ... I think they all look good, Andrew ... I find Affinity slightly better for selection than PSP but that's probably just a personal thing ... The Refine tool sometimes help and sometime creates more work but usually worth trying ..... Still not sold on AI as I suspect it will replace my initiatives with those of the developers selection of good endings .. a lot like iPhone's help(?) in composition and lighting .... We also see that with ESP metering when the camera guesses at the scene for setting the exposure ....

WhyNot

The RBG certainly has some nice irises, Andrew. I like the pale magenta and the peachy ones best. I look forward to your coming posts from there.

I was happy to read that you had a good night's sleep.

I was at Gill's Garden yesterday. I am following their roses as they build up to on the bush bouquets. I got distracted from the flowers because the flying fish were out and I had to sit on the pier and wait for a pelican who was trying to grab them in mid-air. The flying fish are faster than swallows, no chance of catching them, but I did get the bird. 🤥

And I'll throw in one of the roses from Gill's. This is a powerful little bush.

I don't feel like posting much now. Things are too intense here. Rich

I was very impressed because I looked at the pictures before I read the text and thought you grew all those varieties!

Still very beautiful. I also like #3 the best. Stunning is the word.

Thanks WN.

It is true that the generative Ai will make getting interesting images doable for anyone with an imagination. Not sure how that will pan out going forward.

Andrew

Thanks Rich.

The pelican shot is great, along with the humour. The roses are looking good as well.

Serenity comes to those that wait, well perhaps!

Sleep is still hit or miss. Two hours one night, six another, eight perhaps once a week.

Andrew

Charlotte, we have likely about eight varieties, perhaps a few more. I have not really counted them. It is difficult to find unusual varieties in stores. Mostly they have a halve dozen or so. To get the varieties we see in BGs I would have to shop on line at specialty 'shops'. There used to be an couple of iris 'farms' nearby but they both disappeared. Last year a dahlia farm opened. They have some very nice varieties but they are not inexpensive!!! Here they have to be taken indoors for the winter or they die. That is work!

Andrew

Work should be avoided at all cost. 😬At least boring work.😀

Lovely set Andrew My favourite being no 3 Beautiful 😊

Thanks Paul. It was a striking flower!

Andrew