Perpetual flower photo thread

[Geoff Chandler]

Thanks Phil
It's a close run thing between my 2 walkaround lenses,
they both seem pretty sharp and each has it's own slight
advantage

[Kushnirenko]

Kharkiv, Ukraine. Canon EOS 50D. May. 2010

Iris


Lilac


?

[eddie haskell]

A few iris's that finally opened











And then a pix of a full figured gal

[kgosden]

Eddie,

I like the third the best. I love irises, but find that they are impossibly difficult to photograph in a way that pleases me. They have such a range of color and have what I can only call a truly 3-d shape with the resulting shadows and highlights I find it hard to know how to approach them as a subject. I probably need to look at them more abstractly.

[eddie haskell]

Eddie,

I like the third the best. I love irises, but find that they are impossibly difficult to photograph in a way that pleases me. They have such a range of color and have what I can only call a truly 3-d shape with the resulting shadows and highlights I find it hard to know how to approach them as a subject. I probably need to look at them more abstractly.

Yep, I concur. They have so much going on its hard to encompass all of it into one offering. That is why I put the whole flower in the one composition, so you can measure it against what I shared with the others. Pretty, but again, fails to deliver the beauty of the creation. I noticed some gold ones opened late today, I'll try and get a few of them, and I have some blue ones right behind these.
I believe if you try and capture a couple of elements, it makes it easier, and can give the viewer a new perspective they might miss by just a casual glance at the flower in the garden.
Here, look at this one, I can't help but think that Alice in Wonderland might have stepped through that passage way, do you?

[imagejournal]

Hyacinthoides hispanica







imagejournal.co.uk

[Phill D]

Shot yesterday with the 18-180 zoom. Still getting used to its narrow DoF. Not quite sure where the sweet spot is yet but it looks like the tripod is going to have to get some use.

[kgosden]

Eddie,

The colors are great, but it still doesn't work for me. It did make me realize what is so challenging about irises. The number of elements of the flower that are at the same distance from the camera are nearly always separated by sections that are much closer. This leads to distraction in the photo. In your example the wonderful golden glow and lines set the focal point right in the heart of the bloom, but those two sharp focused stamen in the upper corners take it away fast.

[eddie haskell]

Eddie,

The colors are great, but it still doesn't work for me. It did make me realize what is so challenging about irises. The number of elements of the flower that are at the same distance from the camera are nearly always separated by sections that are much closer. This leads to distraction in the photo. In your example the wonderful golden glow and lines set the focal point right in the heart of the bloom, but those two sharp focused stamen in the upper corners take it away fast.

Yes it does, you just have to try and find the angle that captures what you want to express. With this golden one I took yesterday, I now see a possibility that eluded me at the time. Next time I know what I want to try

[kgosden]

Eddie,

That one works better; looks like you increased the depth of field a bit. Was this in a studio setting or out in nature? I seem to remember you were getting the dark background with a cloth backdrop and flash.