I found this tiny pink plastic heart in the tin container we keep sewing supplies in. I immediately knew I wanted to use it in a photo. Btw, the color sections seen on the heart are reflections of the colorful strings; the heart is actually solid pink.

Update: Since a couple of people have asked, no this is not a photo manipulation. The different elements/materials you see were all there in the original unedited photo. The blur is all natural, resulting from the very shallow DOF. What I did do were corrections. I cloned out some fibers extending from the strings that I felt were distracting. I also cloned out some dust speckles and scratches from the heart surface. I used NeatImage to reduce noise, which did enhance the blur a bit, and I sharpened the heart using 'Unsharp Mask'. I did a little doge/burn to lighten/darken some spots. I also corrected the color and contrast of the photo to make it more vivid.

If anyone has any other questions, feel free to ask.

----------

- Nikon D70, Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G AF lens, +10 close up lens
- 2 lamps with incandescent Sylvania - Daylight (White & Natural) 150 watt bulbs as light source
- string + gift wrapping paper for background
- square crop, color & contrast adjustment, sharpening, noise reduction (PS CS)

----------

Copyright © Malgorzata Krawczyk (aka Gosia)

My photos are NOT stock images and may NOT be used in any way without expressed written permission.