First, the story. My whole entire life, I have wanted a Jacaranda tree. I’m serious. Every single spring in the valley, I think to myself “I should get one of those!” Then the blooms die off, summer hits, and I forget about it until the following year.
I purchased a new house about a year ago, and had this interesting scraggeldy tree on the side of my yard. It looked a bit out of place, but I’m certainly not one to ever cut down a tree. I came back from the antique store today and glanced in the direction of the tree. I was like NO FREAKING WAY! I have a Jacaranda tree! I went straight into the house and grabbed the scissors and a vase… within minutes I had the perfect photo op. I finally have my Jacaranda tree; I love it!
The details of the photo… I shot it in my bathroom (where I do most of my floral shots these days) with a white-board behind the flowers. Interestingly enough, I didn’t do my usual MCP Snap, Crackle, Pop action. Hmmm… I just realized that. I wonder why I forgot about it. It doesn’t seem to need it. I did add a levels adjustment layer (to brighten it up a bit) as well as a curves adjustment layer (to sharpen it up a bit). I then added a flare filter just to add a tiny bit of light to the image. I also added a dodge layer just to even out all the tones and lines in the background and to fade out my speckled tile countertop.
For the fun stuff, I added Kim Klassen’s “Framed” texture (multiply blend mode, 29% opacity) and her “Black and White” texture (multiply blend mode, 29% opacity). I did add a mask to the “Framed” texture layer and brushed the texture off of the flowers. For the font, I chose VT Portable Remington (I actually saw one of these typewriters on eBay today)… that’s it. Not a whole ton of stuff that I did to this one. I didn’t really need to.
Of course, I added it to my greeting card stash over on my Red Bubble page. Click here to go have a peek! I’d be in heaven if someone actually purchased one of my cards for Mother’s day. I still need to update my website with all my florals (sans the sayings) for printable images suitable for framing.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you all a wonderful, texture filled Tuesday!
awesome post!
Thanks Stan!
Very pretty edit. I have MUCH to learn!
Very pretty edit. I have MUCH to learn. Thanks for all the details you gave.
Practice, practice, practice! Thank you for stopping by, and I’m glad I could share.
never heard of that tree… but now i love it! such pretty blooms. how funny that you shoot flowers in your bathroom. i do the same, because it is the only place in my home that has good natural light. and it works out well, because what better place to leave the flowers than a bathroom, right? lovely photo, texture use and quote.
Thank you! I love the tree so much! The flowers died by the end of the night, so they clearly don’t like being cut from the tree…
beautiful =)
Thank you!
What a happy accident, finding the tree in your new yard! The photo is excuisite!
Thank you! I love happy surprises!
I love Jacaranda trees. They flower every September/October where I live.
Love the beautfiul, purple tones in your image. Great quote too.
Thank you!
Congratulations on your tree! Wishing you many more great shots like that one!
OMG I laughed when I read your post. Years ago we purchased a new house and I had to have a jacaranda. We enjoyed the beautiful bloom period for years. Sadly I don’t have one in my current yard but they are all over our street. So I still enjoy them. Love your picture…… Great edit. Thanks for the tip on using the white board. My bathroom is a great place for taking photos. Cheers!
The bathroom is the best place for pictures… I usually take the floral ones there or in the kitchen… either place has lots of great light. It’s nice to meet a fellow jacaranda lover, lol! I can’t wait for mine to bloom again!
Lovely shot!
Wow, this is just lovely! Thanks so much for sharing it with Flower Art Friday!!
Beautiful shot and processing! I am jealous of your tree, I have always wanted one!
This is lovely and interesting how you accomplished it!
Wonderful image!
What a wonderful blog. Thanks for following me, nice to meet you.
Thank you, and you are welcome.
Nice to meet you as well! I look forward to keeping track of your posts! 