207. Flowers - June 4-June 10, 2017
Byron-
I cut off a blossom that was growing on the South side of my shed. I brought it in my basement and decided to use simple lighting instead of the trickery I used in the Paint With Light photo. I used a softbox positioned in the upper right, slightly behind the flower. The second light used a Byro-snoot and shot light down the background from the upper left.
ISO 100, f11, 1/200
I cut off a blossom that was growing on the South side of my shed. I brought it in my basement and decided to use simple lighting instead of the trickery I used in the Paint With Light photo. I used a softbox positioned in the upper right, slightly behind the flower. The second light used a Byro-snoot and shot light down the background from the upper left.
ISO 100, f11, 1/200
Darin-
Like Don, I too went on a road trip. I packed up my dog and made the long journey across the street and down the horse path for about 30 feet, to the flowers that my dog like to plow through head first. We went out about 7:30pm Friday night to hopefully get some nice, low light. Nothing special, but here you go.
Like Don, I too went on a road trip. I packed up my dog and made the long journey across the street and down the horse path for about 30 feet, to the flowers that my dog like to plow through head first. We went out about 7:30pm Friday night to hopefully get some nice, low light. Nothing special, but here you go.
Kevin-
First let me loudly proclaim WELCOME BACK DARIN!
Considering some of the previous flower portraits I have attempted, photographing things like Calla Lilies, Tulips and Roses, I inquired “What interesting flowers have I missed completely?” The reply was "Birds of Paradise.”
Of course! It took a bit of prowling around the Twin Cities early this week to identify a place where I could easily purchase one. This was a real surprise as Birds of Paradise grow wild at the side of every local road. NOT- primarily they grow in South Africa!
But finally I was able to come up with an example after convincing a saleswoman that I needed a Bird of Paradise bloom that I could photograph now, not go home with a five foot tall plant where one might bloom eventually.
To top things off I came down with a high fever that lasted for days. I had been in Orlando, Florida for a conference with 500 attendees and had shaken many, many hands, so I must have picked up a virus from somebody. But the fever finally broke and I rushed to the studio to capture the image.
I knew from the beginning I wanted to take a very simple approach, using “studio” lighting rather then trying to reproduce natural light (and not reproduce a natural South African forest). So two studio strobes were used, each with 6’x1' strip lights with grids, angled from each side and behind. With the black background I felt that the Bird of Paradise stood out in stark contrast due to that backlighting.
One of Byron’s goals is to someday complete a WPOTM while taking only one exposure. This time I honestly could have done that as my first frame seemed dead-on with regards to exposure. But then I did expose a few additional frames just to test that theory, ultimately returning to the place I started. Then I rotated to camera slightly to position the stem of the flower at a more interesting angle and finally added a very slight bounce card fill. This frame, number 7, was the final shot. It obviously helped that this flower didn't move. Had it suddenly turned to face me I think I would have bailed into the next room!
Nikon D4s, mounted on a Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 tripod with a Acratech GP ballhead, 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor zoom set to 200mm, ISO 100, f/11 at 1/250th of a second (flash synch).
Birds of Paradise come in many more colorful varieties and this will not the the last time that I photograph one!
First let me loudly proclaim WELCOME BACK DARIN!
Considering some of the previous flower portraits I have attempted, photographing things like Calla Lilies, Tulips and Roses, I inquired “What interesting flowers have I missed completely?” The reply was "Birds of Paradise.”
Of course! It took a bit of prowling around the Twin Cities early this week to identify a place where I could easily purchase one. This was a real surprise as Birds of Paradise grow wild at the side of every local road. NOT- primarily they grow in South Africa!
But finally I was able to come up with an example after convincing a saleswoman that I needed a Bird of Paradise bloom that I could photograph now, not go home with a five foot tall plant where one might bloom eventually.
To top things off I came down with a high fever that lasted for days. I had been in Orlando, Florida for a conference with 500 attendees and had shaken many, many hands, so I must have picked up a virus from somebody. But the fever finally broke and I rushed to the studio to capture the image.
I knew from the beginning I wanted to take a very simple approach, using “studio” lighting rather then trying to reproduce natural light (and not reproduce a natural South African forest). So two studio strobes were used, each with 6’x1' strip lights with grids, angled from each side and behind. With the black background I felt that the Bird of Paradise stood out in stark contrast due to that backlighting.
One of Byron’s goals is to someday complete a WPOTM while taking only one exposure. This time I honestly could have done that as my first frame seemed dead-on with regards to exposure. But then I did expose a few additional frames just to test that theory, ultimately returning to the place I started. Then I rotated to camera slightly to position the stem of the flower at a more interesting angle and finally added a very slight bounce card fill. This frame, number 7, was the final shot. It obviously helped that this flower didn't move. Had it suddenly turned to face me I think I would have bailed into the next room!
Nikon D4s, mounted on a Manfrotto 055CXPRO4 tripod with a Acratech GP ballhead, 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor zoom set to 200mm, ISO 100, f/11 at 1/250th of a second (flash synch).
Birds of Paradise come in many more colorful varieties and this will not the the last time that I photograph one!
Paul-
During the 1960’s—yes, we were able to generate electricity then—“The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” was a big hit with kids who saw it as great Saturday morning entertainment, as well as by quite a few adults…for the same reason. One regular segment of the show, “Bullwinkle’s Corner”, features a brief send-up of a famous poem. I’ve never forgotten the one they did to roast William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud,” and its hilarious closing stanza
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with anger fills,
A DOLLAR A PIECE FOR DAFFODILS?
If you want to see the grainy, weirdly colored, delightfully/horribly drawn, brilliant sequence, it’s on YouTube (of course). Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1L-8f2erg
On a scorching, sticky, sweat-inducing late morning last Sunday I went down to the beautiful Lincoln Sunken Gardens and was able to capture several flower-related images I really liked. (And a whole bunch more I didn’t.) As usual, my wife and daughter favored the ones I’m a little less attracted to and I was drawn to the ones they found unworthy of a second glance. I decided to compromise (read: cower) and submit the one where there was some favorable overlap between the two polarized Hoffman parties.
The bloomin’ details: (11:33AM) Nikon D5200; aperture priority; 55-200mm lens focused at 78mm; ISO 500; 1/640 sec. at f/9;.matrix metered; WB Sun, -0.3 EV, focus points dropped to 21 with heavier weighting shifted to the left-hand side of the frame; and Picture Control (in camera) set to Vivid. I went with the telephoto lens and f/stop choices hoping I would be able to isolate the flower from its background not only in depth but also in tonality. I wanted the flower to pop and, with very little tweaking in Adobe Lightroom, I think I was reasonably successful.
During the 1960’s—yes, we were able to generate electricity then—“The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” was a big hit with kids who saw it as great Saturday morning entertainment, as well as by quite a few adults…for the same reason. One regular segment of the show, “Bullwinkle’s Corner”, features a brief send-up of a famous poem. I’ve never forgotten the one they did to roast William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud,” and its hilarious closing stanza
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with anger fills,
A DOLLAR A PIECE FOR DAFFODILS?
If you want to see the grainy, weirdly colored, delightfully/horribly drawn, brilliant sequence, it’s on YouTube (of course). Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1L-8f2erg
On a scorching, sticky, sweat-inducing late morning last Sunday I went down to the beautiful Lincoln Sunken Gardens and was able to capture several flower-related images I really liked. (And a whole bunch more I didn’t.) As usual, my wife and daughter favored the ones I’m a little less attracted to and I was drawn to the ones they found unworthy of a second glance. I decided to compromise (read: cower) and submit the one where there was some favorable overlap between the two polarized Hoffman parties.
The bloomin’ details: (11:33AM) Nikon D5200; aperture priority; 55-200mm lens focused at 78mm; ISO 500; 1/640 sec. at f/9;.matrix metered; WB Sun, -0.3 EV, focus points dropped to 21 with heavier weighting shifted to the left-hand side of the frame; and Picture Control (in camera) set to Vivid. I went with the telephoto lens and f/stop choices hoping I would be able to isolate the flower from its background not only in depth but also in tonality. I wanted the flower to pop and, with very little tweaking in Adobe Lightroom, I think I was reasonably successful.
Jerry-
I sort of snuck into the neighbors yard (I know she's ticked at most the other neighbors, for some reason she confides in me) and took an extra close up of one of her begonias. Its almost kind of monotone but it pleased me. Since I'm learning Spanish: me gustó el color.
I was happy with the bokeh since I am a member of the anti focus stacking league. Camera was my little Sony a6300 with 50mm normal lens on some extension tubes. Exposure was 1/160 @ F8, ISO 3200.
fotografía de Jerry Vincent
I sort of snuck into the neighbors yard (I know she's ticked at most the other neighbors, for some reason she confides in me) and took an extra close up of one of her begonias. Its almost kind of monotone but it pleased me. Since I'm learning Spanish: me gustó el color.
I was happy with the bokeh since I am a member of the anti focus stacking league. Camera was my little Sony a6300 with 50mm normal lens on some extension tubes. Exposure was 1/160 @ F8, ISO 3200.
fotografía de Jerry Vincent
Don-
My wife and I loaded up the dogs and went up to La Plata Canyon in Colorado Thursday.
Its about an hour drive for us. I was going to check out a couple of water falls. After,
as we were driving out of the Canyon I spotted this field of wild Irises. I took pictures
of the field and a close-up of a couple irises to show what they were.
Flowers: Focal was a 24 to 70mm lens @ 48 mm. Exposure was f/10; 1/400 sec;
ISO 220; Aperture Priority; Matrix Metering; and Auto-ISO. I adjusted the color in Camera
Raw and bumped up the clarity a bit as is needed with most raw files. No cropping here.
My wife and I loaded up the dogs and went up to La Plata Canyon in Colorado Thursday.
Its about an hour drive for us. I was going to check out a couple of water falls. After,
as we were driving out of the Canyon I spotted this field of wild Irises. I took pictures
of the field and a close-up of a couple irises to show what they were.
Flowers: Focal was a 24 to 70mm lens @ 48 mm. Exposure was f/10; 1/400 sec;
ISO 220; Aperture Priority; Matrix Metering; and Auto-ISO. I adjusted the color in Camera
Raw and bumped up the clarity a bit as is needed with most raw files. No cropping here.