Thanks for your comments on my Monteverde Fern. I wish I could go back! Interesting that two didn't like the vine showing in the picture - and I thought it added an interesting 'matching' diagnal. That's the benefit of having other eyes view your work - seeing it from a different light (so to speak).
First I used Lightroom to crop and bring out the blacks and added some luminance to the red. This can be seen here http://www.pbase.com/jengle/image/72910340
Second update was to take the Lightroom version into Photoshop and soften the background using Blur tool, then smudged it a bit along with the vine in the lower right corner. Then I dodged the light areas of the background. I thought I liked the vine in the bottom right, esp. with the moss tendril creeping around it. Hmmm. The second version is posted here http://www.pbase.com/jengle/image/72909801
Michael, welcome to PBase. I just toured your New Zealand gallery, very impressive, lots of great photos. I'll be back to see the others soon. It's nice to run into a neighbor on the internet. Happy New Year!! ...where are ya'll going this year?
