Jumpin' Jack Flash

Seeing a Jack-In-The-Pulpit in the spring is a real treat. They tend to grow in out of the way places, often blending in with the green foliage of other plants nearby.  But once you have found one, it will most likely reappear in the same spot year after year.

I had been searching for one in an area where I had seen them before, but no luck. But a friend I was traveling with (thank you Dee!) spotted this one growing in the deep shade next to a rock.

The light was very soft, with most of the light coming from behind the plant, but it is hard to tell in this original RAW file.

Original RAW File

You can see a few bright areas behind the plant, which is the only hint of the light direction. Everything looks flat and gray. With a little help from the Brush tool in Lightroom, I was able to lighten the Jack to make it pop, as you can see in the main image above.  I also used the Brush tool to darken the rock and the light areas in the background. You can see how a few small changes in Lightroom made a huge difference in this image. One of many helpful attributes of Lightroom is that when using a tool like the Brush or the Gradient Filter, feathering is built in so it is easy for your changes to blend nicely with other areas. Never be afraid to experiment with Lightroom, since none of your changes ever permanently change or destroy anything in the original image. Your original image ALWAYS remains intact, and your modifications can be changed at any time.

TECH SPECS
1/125 sec. at f/7.1, ISO 400. Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS lens on Canon 5D Mark III body. Handheld.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Find beauty not only in the thing itself, but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides."  -- Junichiro Tanizaki