Orchid Arch

Gallery: FloraPosted February 16, 2010107 views10 comments

Originally Valentine flowers I couldn't resist taking their portrait. A gold reflector was used for the background. The flowers where placed in front of a window to provide the lighting. I'm a bit uncertain about the background. I hope the wrinkles aren't a distraction. Your comments are always welcome. Thanks for taking a look.

Matthew Lippert

Canon 50D, 70-200 f/2.8L
15sec, f/22, 100 ISO
Tripod, shutter release
Processed in Lightroom 2.6

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Nathan Buck on February 16, 2010 at 2:22 PM

I really like the look to the flowers, but I think for me the BG is just not working Matthew. I think the variations in color and the wrinkles take too much away from the blooms.

Nathan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on February 16, 2010 at 5:38 PM

Matthew: The BG works ok for me. I wonder if you needed f22 to get the flowers sharp. By carefully managing your plane of focus you might have gotten away with f11. Also pay heed to the distance from the subject to the BG. If you can get the BG farther away the details of it will become less apparent and it will be more blurred. As for the light on the flowers I like it a lot and the comp is top notch. Well done.>=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by jamie pringle on February 16, 2010 at 6:57 PM

Fantastic look to the flowers. The background is a bit unnatural looking to me

Registered on August 10, 2005, 323 Posts, 1216 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on February 16, 2010 at 7:11 PM

Matthew,

The bg while warm and a nice color match to the orchids is a little too distracting for my tastes. I like the light in this very much.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on February 16, 2010 at 8:37 PM

Stunning shot. I love the background and the lighting.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Younger on February 17, 2010 at 12:34 AM

These are remarkably beautiful flowers. I tend not to comment on horticultural shots, but this is definitely an exception. The lighting and delicate detail are wonderful. For what it's worth I think a little less contrast and/or saturation for the background would make a lot of difference. I think the background needs to get pushed back, as Bill suggested. To my eye less saturation makes things appear to recede in comparison with other elements in an image, and I think the sharp creases compete with the edges of the flowers. The flowers deserve more separation.

Charles

Registered on January 15, 2010, 151 Posts, 269 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Schwarz on February 17, 2010 at 9:08 AM

I like the shot. The background colors are great but the wrinkles are a little distracting.

Registered on November 29, 2006, 236 Posts, 1210 Comments

Comment posted by Mary Christopher S on February 17, 2010 at 1:42 PM

Very pretty comp and the backlighting is nice, I'd like a little more light in the front as well, however this has a nice moody feel. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on May 21, 2007, 398 Posts, 2605 Comments

Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on February 19, 2010 at 2:03 PM

It's time of orchids. The light is beautiful: in the transparent flowers and also in the background. In fact, I love the BG, original and moody, looking like a rock.
Take care.

Registered on February 3, 2007, 827 Posts, 5052 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on February 20, 2010 at 6:06 AM

LOVE IT! Background and all. Brilliantly conceived idea. Very creative.

Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments