Japanese Fern

Gallery: FloraPosted June 7, 2010152 views14 comments

My wife and I visited 6 home gardens in Seattle on a rare sun-drenched Saturday. Hosted by members from Northwest Perennial Alliance, these events occur throughout the growing season. My wife talks shop while I shoot.

I was lazy and did not swap my 100mm lens for the 35mm to take this shot. Those are fallen red rhodie blossoms on the ground. I liked the complex fern forms, including busted fronds going every which-way. The color of rhodie blossoms added a bit of deliciousness to the composition as well as providing a wild untended look.

I know this has lack of appeal to most, as my wife said, "Why post this? I don't like it." Yeah,...but...I just can't help it. Something in me smiles with these types of shots. No explanation can be found why.

100mm Zeiss, f22, 1/10s, nikon d300

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by David Cobb on June 7, 2010 at 10:21 AM

I really like this free-for-all pattern and the soft light here and there. I like the original comp and concept.

Registered on December 14, 2007, 312 Posts, 3243 Comments

Comment posted by David W. Kelly on June 7, 2010 at 10:48 AM

Beautiful Greens. Wonderful range of green tones. Nice comp and image.

Registered on October 7, 2005, 883 Posts, 6590 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Gallo on June 7, 2010 at 10:55 AM

Beautifully composed, I like the mood of this and the flowers add just the right amount of color

Registered on September 14, 2005, 182 Posts, 1471 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Duff on June 7, 2010 at 10:59 AM

Well Ken, I'm with you. I like it a lot. I light the mood,light and structure provided by the ferns. Reminds me of the Dutch still life paintings. Ireally like the large version. I am reviewing these shots on my IPAD and man oh man do the photos ever look fantastic on the IPAD.

Registered on April 21, 2010, 160 Posts, 1675 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on June 7, 2010 at 7:47 PM

Wow, Ken. This is just awesome.

Registered on February 11, 2004, 777 Posts, 5252 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on June 7, 2010 at 8:46 PM

Ken: I love the tones and textures and the apparent chaos of the scene. Nicely seen and captured. >=))>

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

Comment posted by Bruce Palla on June 7, 2010 at 9:06 PM

I like it as well. Perhaps the life surrounding the "death" subtext? Cool shot.

Registered on December 19, 2007, 25 Posts, 328 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on June 7, 2010 at 9:12 PM

Beautiful image Ken. Strong composition for my tastes and I like the textures and details in the image. Nothing wrong with the light either.

Pat

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

Comment posted by Ken Smith on June 7, 2010 at 9:35 PM

Thanks all for the comments. Glad that others seem to share the enjoyment of these vignettes.

As I come back to view this ...one reason why these complex comps are attractive becomes clear. During photoshopping, I work on a large version and get lost in the maze of colors and shapes...each time I scroll to see a different view...something new is discovered...I literally delight seeing something the camera 'found' that I did not intentionally include in the comp. As they say, a picture paints a thousand words....Here is a small clip of the original shot showing that kind of detail that makes my day.

(All of which is to say, I am trying to justify spending the $$'s on those Zeiss lenses.)

Registered on September 5, 2008, 449 Posts, 2444 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Southard on June 7, 2010 at 10:37 PM

Nice shot Ken. Lots of visual interest. Good light and comp.

Registered on July 15, 2007, 258 Posts, 3892 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on June 8, 2010 at 7:17 PM

Hi Ken

I know how you feel about these kind of shots, But your not alone, thank goodness!! We all love scenes like this

Wonderfull light. lines, and detail.!!!
Albert Darmo . Canada

Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on June 9, 2010 at 3:36 AM

I think the image has a great pattern to it, Ken. And the rhodie blossoms are perfect in there! Everything looks so natural, it's perfectly scrumptious.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 10, 2010 at 7:13 AM

Love the detail. light and textures

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on June 11, 2010 at 2:10 PM

Sorry for your wife, but I like it very much too. Why? The first thing is the excellent photographic quality. The second, the stark contrasts of shades and lights give strenght and structure to the image; and a bit of mystery too.
Cheers.

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