Water Lily

Posted on July 2, 2012 by spilledinkguy

Shadow detail… HA! Rules. Whatever, dude.

Walter Sobchack: “You mark that frame an eight, and you’re entering a world of pain.”

Smokey: “I’m not…”

Walter Sobchack: “A world of pain.”

Smokey: “Dude, he’s your partner…”

Walter Sobchack: “Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a s**t about the rules?! Mark it zero! ”

– John Goodman & Jimmy Dale Gilmore – The Big Lebowski

About this image: digital photograph, lightly modified

73 thoughts on “Water Lily”

Verena Fischer on July 2, 2012 at 2:54 am said:

So beautiful! I really love the tones. They give the picture an almost surreal feel. Nice 🙂

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 7:23 am said:
  
  Thank you very much, Ms. F!
  I darkened up the background more than I might normally do – seemed like I could get away with that here, though… I was thinking / hoping the flower should be the star of the show, I guess.
  🙂
  
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Sabina Brave on July 2, 2012 at 3:11 am said:

It looks amazing! I love it 🙂
Have a wonderful week Mr. SIG 🙂

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 7:20 am said:
  
  That is so nice to hear Ms. B… thank you!
  I hope you have a wonderful week as well!
  🙂
  
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cocomino on July 2, 2012 at 6:37 am said:

How beautiful. The light and the shade is perfect. Have a good day.

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 7:20 am said:
  
  Thanks you very much, sir!
  And I hope you have a wonderful day as well!
  🙂
  
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Jackie Cangro on July 2, 2012 at 7:56 am said:

Wow SIG! My hat’s off to you. Your water lily is so much better compared to the water lily I posted last week!
Well done.

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 8:06 am said:
  
  Not at all, Ms. C. Just different styles, that’s all! Although I do wish I would have posted this when I originally thought about doing so… that would have been kinda fun! It’s surprising how often that happens to me, really… I must be ~~stealing~~ channeling creative thoughts!
  🙂
  
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Deb on July 2, 2012 at 8:43 am said:

I love this one, Sig…the lily shows up so nicely in the surrounding shadows. Nice work! 🙂 Hugs xx

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 10:21 am said:
  
  Thank you very much, Deb! It seemed like there was so much ‘going on’ in the photo that I tried a few things to pull the flower out and push the background … um… back, a bit. How’s that for funny? A background in the background?! Honestly, I don’t know what my deal is sometimes!
  🙂
  
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astrawally on July 2, 2012 at 9:15 am said:

Wonderfully full shadows and such simple elegant form! A topper SIG!!

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 10:19 am said:
  
  Thanks so much, sir!
  This was one of those editing jobs that took a real turn… funny how much your mood at the time your working on an image can so dramatically affect the outcome, isn’t it?!
  🙂
  
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  - astrawally on July 2, 2012 at 10:43 am said:
    
    Haha yes it does. You have certainly supplied us with a very atmospheric image here. Looks like no matter what mood your are in it is a beneficial one!
    
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milkayphoto on July 2, 2012 at 10:03 am said:

Simply beautiful, Sig. Nice balance of light and shadow.

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 10:18 am said:
  
  Thanks so much, M.P…
  I cooked parts of this one quite a bit, but… for the most part… I’m happy with this. I think. For now, anyway.
  🙂
  
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bearmancartoons on July 2, 2012 at 10:07 am said:

Darn there was a movie coming out that had boring er your name written all over it and now I forgot what it was.

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 10:17 am said:
  
  You wouldn’t be thinking of… MOONRISE KINGDOM, would you? (can you tell I’m just a little excited to see it?)
  Hahaha… aw, come-on, Bearman… I know you love the visual of a gun toting John Goodman crammed into the same post as a Water Lilly… how’s that for juxtaposition?
  🙂
  
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  - bearmancartoons on July 2, 2012 at 7:27 pm said:
    
    That’s IT!! Can’t wait to get some quotes from that.
    
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    - spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:32 am said:
      
      Hahaha…
      Can’t wait to learn a few!
      🙂
      
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      - bearmancartoons on July 4, 2012 at 8:59 pm said:
        
        Just saw the preview today when going to see Rock of Ages. Still sucks. I don’t get that guys movies at All.
      - spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 9:06 am said:
        
        HAHAHA! It would be a dream come true if I could get a photo of W.A. wearing a Bearman Cartoons shirt to send you…
        🙂
      - bearmancartoons on July 6, 2012 at 7:48 am said:
        
        Then maybe I would think he had a sense of humor
      - spilledinkguy on July 6, 2012 at 8:11 am said:
        
        🙂
jakesprinter on July 2, 2012 at 11:07 am said:

Excellent post Bob , I love the way how you shot this one plus your amazing artwork 🙂

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 11:51 am said:
  
  Thanks so much, Jake!
  It was very happy to hear you liked this one!
  🙂
  
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pegoleg on July 2, 2012 at 11:42 am said:

Deep in a cave is a secret pool. High above the pool, nature has formed a skylight in the ceiling of the cave. Once each day a single ray of light is able to penetrate the gloom to highlight the hidden beauty that human eyes cannot see.

Except SIG’s eyes.

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- spilledinkguy on July 2, 2012 at 11:50 am said:
  
  Holy c**p, Peg! That was beautiful, thank you!
  And I would have settled for a mag light and a spare set of batteries!
  🙂
  
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Madame Weebles on July 2, 2012 at 2:06 pm said:

The photo is dandy but I’m marveling at how perfect a water lily that is, too!

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:35 am said:
  
  So true, Madame!
  The stuff around it wasn’t nearly as perfect, though. I had to airbrush out a ton of junk on the lily pads (including at least one dead-looking bug). I thought about cleaning them up even more (ridiculous how dirty ponds are these days), but I was worried it might start to look a bit fake at some point.
  🙂
  
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pattisj on July 2, 2012 at 3:26 pm said:

Love the way the lily “glows” amid the shadows.

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:33 am said:
  
  Thank you so much, Patti!
  I was hoping I didn’t push that too far… but it almost seemed like it… did… something.
  🙂
  
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Binky on July 2, 2012 at 9:14 pm said:

Wow, that’s really nice. All of your stuff is really good, but this is one of my favorite photos that you’ve posted.

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:31 am said:
  
  That is wonderful to hear, sir thank you! Especially since you’ve put up with me for so long now… so I know you’ve ~~suffered through~~ er ~~seen a lot of scary things~~ had a lot to compare this to!
  Thank you again, sir… very much!
  🙂
  
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  - Binky on July 4, 2012 at 8:13 pm said:
    
    The only thing that I found scary was your abused pears! Those poor things!
    
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    - spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 9:07 am said:
      
      Hahaha… I was surprised I wasn’t getting any calls from some ‘Pear Growers Council’ or something… wanting to use those for promotion somewhere…
      😉
      
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Derrick Birdsall on July 2, 2012 at 9:35 pm said:

the light is excellent here…. very well played, sir!

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:29 am said:
  
  Many thanks, Mr. B! Game-on… I hope, anyway.
  🙂
  
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Annabelle on July 2, 2012 at 10:35 pm said:

It has such a beautiful glow! It reminds me of a staged scene from a play for some reason. Maybe it’s the dramatic lighting. Lovely!

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:29 am said:
  
  That’s a very good way to describe this, Annabelle… I hadn’t thought of it until you mentioned it, but it looks quite a bit like some kind of stage lighting to me, too! Thank you so much!
  🙂
  
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Androgoth on July 3, 2012 at 6:08 pm said:

All that we need now is a bunch of
frogs to leap by and you’ve cracked it 🙂 lol
Joking aside SIG I really like this one 🙂

Androgoth

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:27 am said:
  
  Hahaha… indeed, Andro!
  Well, I didn’t see many frogs that day, but there were plenty of bugs around. In fact, there was one (which – somehow – I didn’t even see at the time) legs up (dead, I think) on one of the lily pads in the foreground… I had to airbrush that out (along with one or two smaller ones and a ton of other random ‘stuff’)… it was a bit disgusting, really.
  🙂
  
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nonoymanga on July 4, 2012 at 3:31 am said:

Mr. Sig and your amazing water lily photo. It has all the element of a classic flora photo put into one. Cheers Nonoy Manga

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- spilledinkguy on July 4, 2012 at 10:24 am said:
  
  You are too kind, N.M… thank you so much! I sincerely appreciate it!
  🙂
  
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Patti Kuche on July 4, 2012 at 11:47 am said:

What a lily! I give the frame and all within a perfect 10!

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- spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 9:09 am said:
  
  Thank you very much, Ms. K!!!
  Your comments are always in the running for kindness gold!
  🙂
  
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Lenore Diane on July 4, 2012 at 12:05 pm said:

Absolutely gorgeous. *scrolls back up to take a fourth look* Yep. Absolutely gorgeous.

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- spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 9:08 am said:
  
  Aw, thanks so much, Ms. D!
  I appreciate all that mouse-work!
  🙂
  
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ristinw on July 5, 2012 at 5:36 am said:

Wow! I like this photo! It’s just perfect! 😀

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- spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 9:01 am said:
  
  Oh, thank you so much, Cristina!
  It did turn out a bit better than I thought it might… so that was a nice surprise!
  🙂
  
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Friggin Loon on July 5, 2012 at 7:47 am said:

Very tranquil. Just waiting for the frog to leap out.

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- spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 8:59 am said:
  
  No! No! No frogs here, Loon…
  *winks at frog in background / tries not to stat laughing*
  🙂
  
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marina on July 5, 2012 at 6:21 pm said:

nice! It’s like the lily is the star of the scene and a spotlight from above points it out.

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- spilledinkguy on July 5, 2012 at 10:26 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much!
  It was a bit of a surprise how that all came together… honestly it was mostly luck… but I’m not above taking all the serendipity I can get!
  🙂
  
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Mary on July 6, 2012 at 8:55 am said:

*inserts music* …….and now the star of the show!!!! Love this! 😀

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- spilledinkguy on July 6, 2012 at 12:33 pm said:
  
  An unbelievably kind comment AND some tunes? I’ll sure take that, Mary… thank you!
  🙂
  
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themeredithmouth on July 6, 2012 at 10:11 am said:

Glad I dropped by and found this. Water lily + “Big Lebowski” reference = happy Friday!

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- spilledinkguy on July 6, 2012 at 12:37 pm said:
  
  ‘You want a Water Lily + Big Lebowski reference? I can get you a Water Lily + Big Lebowski reference, believe me. There are ways, Dude. You don’t wanna know about it, believe me.’
  *In my best Walter*
  
  Thanks so much for stopping by, M.M.!
  🙂
  
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nigel on July 6, 2012 at 3:19 pm said:

Lovely lighting on this… 🙂

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- spilledinkguy on July 7, 2012 at 8:34 am said:
  
  Thanks so much, Nigel…
  I was pleasantly surprised with how that part worked out…
  it was just a bit of luck, really.
  🙂
  
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Tony McGurk on July 7, 2012 at 6:03 am said:

The B&W really sets the flower off nicely. Where’s da frogs???

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- spilledinkguy on July 7, 2012 at 8:25 am said:
  
  Thanks so much Mr. M!
  Hahaha… they must be off relaxing on da couch somewhere…
  🙂
  
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elmediat on July 8, 2012 at 8:11 pm said:

Beautiful composition. Both the balance and tonal qualities are very effective. It suggests some of the early photography from Japan.

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- spilledinkguy on July 9, 2012 at 8:58 am said:
  
  Thank you so much, sir!
  I was very happy when I stumbled across these water lilies IN BLOOM! Normally when we visit the Botanical Garden I tend to miss out on that for some reason…
  🙂
  
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joshi daniel on July 9, 2012 at 1:07 am said:

beautiful 🙂

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- spilledinkguy on July 9, 2012 at 8:53 am said:
  
  Thank you so very much! That is very kind of you!
  🙂
  
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Christy @ The Daily Dish on July 9, 2012 at 1:45 pm said:

Just when I think you couldn’t pull a prettier photo out of your lens, you go and do it. Gorgeous, Inky, seriously gorgeous.

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- spilledinkguy on July 9, 2012 at 6:31 pm said:
  
  Aw, thanks, Dishy!
  You are far too kind… what is working here was mostly (if not all) luck… but I’ll take all the luck that I can find!
  🙂
  
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Lynn on July 9, 2012 at 3:57 pm said:

I Love these, we see them a lot in Thailand. The photography is nice S-I-G but honestly- my eyes are SCREAMING for color!

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- spilledinkguy on July 9, 2012 at 6:29 pm said:
  
  I would imagine that’s very true, Lynn! That would definitely be the sort of thing I wouldn’t mind seeing a lot of!
  Hahaha… well… you know. There is some color above and below this, though… so that’s a start, right?!
  🙂
  
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Unapologetically Mundane on July 10, 2012 at 10:44 am said:

gor-JUS. I would kill to see this in a movie. Probably Citizen Kane. In the little-known scene where they rescue Rosebud and throw it in the pond.

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- spilledinkguy on July 11, 2012 at 10:04 pm said:
  
  Great.
  Now I’m going to be screaming, ‘XANADU!‘ in my old-timey voice all night long.
  I’m totally blaming this on you when my landlord starts banging on the door, U.M. 😉
  
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Syncopated Eyeball on August 10, 2012 at 12:41 am said:

This is beautiful, Robert. I must have missed it because of my break.

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- spilledinkguy on August 13, 2012 at 8:47 am said:
  
  Thank you, S.E! The post processing choices were a bit overwhelming with this one – seemed like it could have worked many different ways – but as you know, my gut reaction is usually b/w… especially when in doubt. So I’m especially happy to hear you liked this, S.E… thank you!
  🙂
  
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