The Marigold Market: Kolkata, India. Marigolds are an important flower in India, both for religious purposes and socially. Every church, hospital or home that we visited we would be...

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

Kolkata, India.

Marigolds are an important flower in India, both for religious purposes and socially. Every church, hospital or home that we visited we would be festooned with marigold garlands. Millions of these flowers are traded each day, all over India.

(Download)

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Definitely a colourful photographic scene. Nicely taken, Graham, as usual.
--Bob

Graham Smith wrote:

Kolkata, India.

Marigolds are an important flower in India, both for religious purposes and socially. Every church, hospital or home that we visited we would be festooned with marigold garlands. Millions of these flowers are traded each day, all over India.

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

rmalarz wrote:

Definitely a colourful photographic scene. Nicely taken, Graham, as usual.
--Bob

Thanks, Bob. A high bright tropical sun and bright yellow flowers made exposure tricky.

Graham

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I can imagine. You handled that combination quite well.
--Bob

Graham Smith wrote:

Thanks, Bob. A high bright tropical sun and bright yellow flowers made exposure tricky.

Graham

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Excellent colors and composition and interest. First-rate work, Graham, as usual.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Graham, this is beautifully done. You have handled the exposure very nicely. I really like the composition also. Choosing what to put front and center must have been difficult.

Jim-Pops Loc: Granbury, Texas

Graham Smith wrote:

Thanks, Bob. A high bright tropical sun and bright yellow flowers made exposure tricky.

Graham

I am surprised I don't see blown out areas. Did you get this vibrant shot with your camera alone or did you have to work on it in post production? Might it have been under exposed and then spot lightened in pp?

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

Graham Smith wrote:

Kolkata, India.

Marigolds are an important flower in India, both for religious purposes and socially. Every church, hospital or home that we visited we would be festooned with marigold garlands. Millions of these flowers are traded each day, all over India.

I agree with Bob. The colors here are amazing. Very nice. An interesting view into a world that not many of us have been fortunate enough to experience.
Erich

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

Jim-Pops wrote:

I am surprised I don't see blown out areas. Did you get this vibrant shot with your camera alone or did you have to work on it in post production? Might it have been under exposed and then spot lightened in pp?

Hello Jim-Pops, all of my pictures receive some pp. When I took this image I made sure that I didn't blow out any highlights. I had to be careful with the yellow flowers, taking as close as I dare to blowing out, the shadows had to look after themselves.

Back home, in Blighty, I used ACR to improve the balance between highlights and shadows. Next, I dodged the shadows, which was primarily the faces, and burned back some of the too-bright highlights.
I also adjusted some of the tones in ACR, ASL, both saturation and luminance, then just a touch of sharpening. Everything that was there when I released the shutter is still there in the picture. Nothing added apart from, I hope, impact and nothing taken away. Verity is my watchword

Graham

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

AzPicLady wrote:

Graham, this is beautifully done. You have handled the exposure very nicely. I really like the composition also. Choosing what to put front and center must have been difficult.

Thanks, AzPicLady,
There were a thousand shots to be had there, I doubt that, unless you were really inept you couldn't have come away without a good shot. I find that the secret is, in places such as this, is not to stand on the fringes trying to get pictures, but to get in amongst the action. Don't be shy about talking to people, and if you don't know the language, laugh a lot

Graham

Jim-Pops Loc: Granbury, Texas

Graham Smith wrote:

Hello Jim-Pops, all of my pictures receive some pp... (show quote)

Thanks so much for getting back to me. 👍