Elegant Cat's Ear

Gallery: FloraPosted August 3, 201145 views11 comments

Elegant Cat's Ear, Elegant Mariposa, Elegant Star Lily, Northwest Mariposa Lily, Northwestern Mariposa Calochortus elegans var. elegans.

All of the above are names used at times for this strange wildflower of which I posted a photo earlier the spring.

Olympus E-5
50mm F2 macro
1 sec @F22 -1.0 EV
flash off
ESP metering
ISO 200
manual focus
tripod
selective sharpening in elements.
selective darkening of some excessively white areas.
cropped slight from top and bottom.
cloned some distracting misc stems.

Large view provided.

Always appreciate your comments and critique.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on August 3, 2011 at 7:22 PM

What a pretty flower, Charlie. I like the diagonal placement for the stem and the angle chosen to show the petal details and the center at the same time.

What was the lighting here ?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on August 3, 2011 at 8:21 PM

Ram, I bought 2 cheapy umbrella reflector 5500k flourescent lamps and being a rank amateur at lighting AND judging, I like them and the results I get with them.

I don't remember for sure the placement, but right and left and slightly raised above the level of the flower is my belief.

Charlie

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on August 3, 2011 at 8:43 PM

What a fascinating thing Charlie. Fine lighting and superb detail. Interesting subject and image.

pat

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on August 3, 2011 at 10:20 PM

Really elegant image, Charlie.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on August 3, 2011 at 10:52 PM

Very interesting and unusual flower. Great comp and details.. The stem lines add to the interesting comp and the black BG helps to show off this beauty. If the color of this flower is white, it seems a little dark to me but maybe that is it's color. If so, disregard this last comment.

Great shot overall.

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on August 4, 2011 at 1:05 AM

Thanks all for generous comments. This flower fascinates me too.

Carolyn, this is pretty close to the color as I remember it.

Charlie

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on August 4, 2011 at 11:38 AM

Great job of capturing all the details. What an interesting flower.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on August 4, 2011 at 8:44 PM

Wierd flower, but a fine portrait!

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

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on August 6, 2011 at 10:55 AM

Finding strange wildflowers is a treasure hunt, and this one is a beauty. Nice job on showcasing it. Charlie.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on August 6, 2011 at 2:48 PM

Wayne, You understand.

Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on August 6, 2011 at 10:37 PM

Hi Charlie

A flawless performance

Superb subject, light, detail and composition

Albert Darmo

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