This image of a field of Mule’s Ears, Scarlet Gilia and Flax was captured using a relatively long shutter speed while tilting the camera to produce an impressionist-style blur. I used Topaz Impression to add brush strokes and enhance the overall impressionist quality of the image.

Here is another Wild Blue Flax image from our time in Crested Butte this summer. Each stem produces many buds that open at different times. As a result, we enjoyed seeing and photographing these flowers throughout most of our stay.

For this image, I chose a painterly treatment using multiple textures. The main body of the image uses two textures — one from the FrenchKiss collection and one from my own files. The border was constructed using one of the Flypaper Fly Edges textures.

The days are shorter; the nights are crisp; there is snow in the high country and the ski areas are making more. Still, it feels like summer as I continue to work on this year’s crop of wildflower photos.

This one is Scarlet Gilia, also known as Skyrocket. I’ve used an Orton effect to increase contrast and saturation as well as add a bit of glow to bring out the fireworks analogy.