Two Color Roses Posterized

Two Color Roses Posterized
Originally uploaded by randubnick

During a recent walk at Long Hill Gardens, we saw these amazing two-color roses blooming right next to the house.  I don't think I have ever seen roses in two colors growing on the same bush! Of course, I took some pictures, shooting the flowers from below because they were leaning over somewhat. As I took the photograph, I could already see that the leaves looked like they had been eaten alive.  In fact, some of the rose petals looked like they were past their prime. For a second, I wondered if it was worth it to take the picture. But nothing in life is perfect, and I think that if you see a bi-color rose bush, you can't pass it up! Tonight I decided to see what I could do to rescue my photo.  I cropped this composition out of the original photo, and opened the image in Painter.  I drew into the photograph with the digital pastel, covering up the holes in the leaves.  Then I did a little clean-up of a few of the rose petals.  I posterized the image, but was losing detail in the brightest yellow flowers.  So I added just a bit of color overlay on the inside of the flower, and tried posterizing again. This time I was happy with the result, even though this image is not perfect. But then, nothing in life is perfect, not even art.  In fact, insisting on perfect can often mean missing out. I am glad I didn't miss out on these pink and yellow roses!