The Peonies of Hama Rikyu Gardens in Tokyo

I have been experimenting with a new plug-in called 'Vintage' put out by Jixi Pix which is great for adding 100 years to the look of an image which I thought was appropriate for these beautiful peonies seen in Hama Rikyu gardens near Tsukiji fish market. It was originally set out for members of the then all-powerful Tokugawa clan during the Edo period.

This particular special effect makes the images appear as if shot with a glass plate camera - which incidentally helps make any background details you might have also captured fade out a bit. The variations on background texture, image texture, vignetting and tinting are infinite with this plug-in so, although quite easy to use, deciding when to stop and save, is hard!