Dicentra (bleeding-heart; Greek dís “twice”, kéntron “spur”) has attractive mounded foliage with arching stems of delicate, heart-shaped flowers in spring. It’s a woodland perennial that is happiest in moist soil along with ferns and other shade-lovers.

When I took this photo at the nursery, I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of this branch of bleeding heart that I didn’t see the ugly yellow poles in the background. I started by using the vignette effect to draw attention away from the poles.

Then I tried to draw more attention to the pink flowers by using the sharpen effect along with the vignette effect.

Finally, I decided to try it in black and white with some sharpening. It gets rid of the pesky yellow poles. It also gets rid of my favorite hot pink… insert sad face here.

So what do you think? What advice do you have for a novice photographer? I welcome your critique, but please be nice. 🙂