Black and White Peony Treatment & Vintage Theatre Curtain Background
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Have to say sorry for jumping back into the Peony shoot. I promised someone, now cannot remember, that I’d maybe put drapes for background on the arrangement instead of grungy texture. They are elegant enough to justify being neighbors with a hint of lush vintage theatre drapes. Maybe the flowers take center stage? I played with it in color but when Leanne Cole had her weekly Monochrome Madness, I thought I’d see how the idea looked in black and white and liked it enough to share there. The flowers are the main thing not to be upstaged as it where by those gorgeous curtains, so I moved the layer around and darkened out the center detail just enough to have it seem the table with flowers was just happened to be nestled in a corner with curtains.
The vintage drapes were found a the site of a Deviant Art artist..EveyD….right HERE ! Clicking on her curtains will get you there too. She has the image in a variety of colors…they all look amazing but I was partial to the colors below. Right, I turned them into black and white, oh well!! If any one is looking for interesting backgrounds or textures, you might check out the artists at Deviant Art as so much is shared there for you to experiment with. Just be careful to read any rules the artist might have on commercial use vs personal use depending on what you want to do with your artistic work that utilized their stock. That site is also excellent to find Photoshop brushes as well as backgrounds and textures.
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Gorgeous Vintage Theatre Curtain aren't they? ♦ Have fun with your images...whether Photoshop, Lightroom, NIK Filters....whatever you have. I love our digital darkrooms!! Judy
Janthina Images - Photo Journal 
Judy, those drapes did make a difference, and your lighting on the flowers simply draw the viewer to them. Another brilliant, no pun intended, shot!
I am actually pleased that the black and white was found appealing to other people. Dark flowers are trickier in black and white but light colored ones can be very effective and have a nice mood to them. Yeah and I find myself really attracted to the drape idea even though I really like grungy type texture background details for interest too.
Love those curtains. Did the theatre notice them missing? 🙂
I thought of you when I used a theatre curtain stock image for hints of drapes rather than something more mundane. I think those curtains are fabulous!!
They really are lush and kinds antiqued. ‘My’ theatre had deep rose-red velvet curtains, heavily edged in gold fringing. The owners looked into the costs of replacement with something more modern. Ouch. They decided to leave them be.
Besides if they had tried to buy vintage it would have probably been even more. Sometimes in looking you find renewed magic in what you have. But, it can be hard to desire a new look and have to leave the old due to finances.
Oh, believe it, I’m used to it. I find it a delightful challenge . . . . 🙂
Well, now. This appeals in a way that surprises me, being black and white and all. It doesn’t feel cluttered to me (if you haven’t read my previous comment, it will explain that) and the addition of the drape adds some interest to the background. The shells really do shine with this treatment, too. This is I could live with.
Oh good! Definitely fewer items and more delicate in structure. I will probably play with the drapes for background interest some more, I do like that myself. Instead of purely a still life it looks more like someone put some things they liked on a table near some draperies. Not all staged. I started working in color and may still see if I can pull together a nice look with the pink flowers and the dusky drapes with gold fringe. Black and white is a good deal more forgiving in this kind of work as you can always throw things into shadow.
A very dramatic composition Judy, you can see the texture of the drapes adding texture.
Hi Andrea!! Thanks! I hadn’t originally planned to go black and white with these images but I do like it quite a bit. Has elegance to it.