The neighbor with the rocks, from yesterday's post, has a plant that's intrigued me all winter. It was lush and green, of course, all summer, with big, striking leaves, but I find it far more interesting now.
It's circular form, tangled stems and striped leaves remind me very much of the work of Dale Chihuly.
First I find an interesting section and crop it. Here I like the juxtaposition of the smooth, solid colored maple leaf peeping out from under the curling, shaded leaves.
The difference here is kind of subtle and easier to see with the two images enlarged and side by side. The striations in the leaves are a little more emphasized here and the color flattened a bit.
This one is just an inversion in Photoshop of the previous image. Even if I don't like the colors, I find that inversions help me see the design lines and not just the image. It's easy to get lost in an image and lose the overall composition. Most everything I do in Photoshop is done in the Image>Adjustments menu options. If I don't like a change, control-alt-z will return the image to the previous step.
This, I think, is my favorite. It has all the aspects I like but with a more subtle color palette. I really am intrigued by the stripes on the leaves. I played with Photoshop layers to subdue the remaining bright turquoise at the bottom.
