We are now in week 3 of the March One Four Challenge, hosted by Robyn Gosby at Captivate Me. I’m having a play with filters this week and have discovered another way of putting the spotlight on the butterfly and camouflaging those distracting little twigs.
Week 3 process: Spherized
To make my humble cabbage butterfly the star again this week, I have done the following:
- Used the light effect image from week 1
- Tweaked the highlights and saturation to lift the colours in the wings and rosemary blossoms
- Applied the filter/distort/spherize around the butterfly to emphasize it
- Applied a vignette to darken its surroundings
Here is the result:
Butterfly – Week 3
Just as a reminder, here is the progression since the original:
As always, your comments are welcome.
Be sure to check other participants’ work by clicking on this One Four Challenge link. We have some very talented artists amongst our group and it is well worth having a wander!
Sv-Anui 
cool…adds interesting blur. And I like the vignette.
Thanks Marsha! Appreciate your comment!
I’ve really enjoyed all of the variations on your Cabbage White butterfly and like the way that this week’s version has brought us even closer to the butterfly.
Oh thank you Mike… It really is a challenge to come up with different versions!
Subtle and beautiful!
Thank you😊
Excellent use of filters…the spherize/distort plus the vignette have worked really well
Trying different things… Thanks for your feedback Sue.
Love this version… the distortion is subtle but big enough to pull the eye to the middle of the picture!
Yes it’s a bit like a magnifying glass. Thanks for your comment Sari.
I love this image so much, it is impossible to do something I wouldn’t like.
Oh that nearly sounds like a challenge!😄
When I read spherized I was concerned. You have worked this filter really well with what looks like to me a subtle effect. Really nice work.
Thanks Ben – not my favourite but good to try mew things.
a beautiful vignette to frame the subject!! Magical!!
Thanks for the generous feedback Cybele!
Interesting effect. I haven’t seen this before. It definitely enhances the butterfly as the center of interest. It does feel a bit like a magnifying glass.
Hi Joanne – yes it does… Another experiment!
Interesting effect, Chris. I like the tight focus on the butterfly, such soft colors!
Hi Carrie – Not my most favourite, but fun to try different things.
Oh yes, trying new things is what this challenge is all about. In many cases it launches you in a direction you wouldn’t normally go…which is progress, at least for me 🙂
I definitely agree – trying and learning new things! I think this has worked so well Chris and I love your chosen image this month. It makes me happy 😃
It really is a great experience, Robyn. I’m glad you like my subject for this month… There is a lightness to it…
The break next month is fortuitous as I have just subscribed to an LR/PS plan so have a steep learning curve ahead of me! I’m glad I started with Elements to get the gist of things first!
Its lovely!
I think the break will be quite refreshing for us all 😃
You are going to enjoy your course Chris – steep learning curve – yes, but very satisfying. Good luck.
Had the first session, so now all set to improve my processing skills… Big month for me: new camera, LR and PS subscription, and the big overdue one: now shooting in RAW… at last! Very pleased all round.
Wow, this is awesome Chris! Enjoy it all, especially your new camera 😃😃
I’m sorry I’ve been missing your butterfly this month! This is an interesting edit, initially I saw the butterfly emphasized by light and vignette, but it wasn’t until I was watching the slideshow that I realized that this week’s edit makes it seem like I’m looking through a glass bowl or a magnifying glass at the butterfly… it’s pretty neat! All the edits have been great, nice job. 😀
Thanks for commenting Nick – sometimes you have to see the images in full screen to get the effect!
I like this edit. The lighting effects have shifted the focus purely onto the cabbage white. Lovely. 🙂
Thank you😊