Spring Beauty

Gallery: FloraPosted April 15, 2012139 views15 comments

One of my favorite wild flowers, but it's been years since I photographed them. So I set out into the woods last week amidst breezes and intermittent showers. To avoid carrying my little wind shelter tent, I used somewhat high ISO (no problem for the 5D Mark II) and managed to catch some of the little beauties between jiggles from breezes and raindrops.

Canon 5DII
Sigma 150 Macro
1/10 sec. @ f/16; ISO 640
I used the lens blur filter in CS5 to blur the leaves in the LLC, and I also cut down the brightness and contrast there.

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Soubhik Patranabis on April 15, 2012 at 10:51 PM

Beautiful ..

Registered on January 25, 2010, 54 Posts, 610 Comments

Comment posted by Danny Laureys on April 15, 2012 at 10:52 PM

Beautiful!!!

Registered on January 5, 2008, 590 Posts, 1261 Comments

Comment posted by Todd Bielby on April 16, 2012 at 9:48 AM

Really nice Wayne!

Registered on March 10, 2011, 169 Posts, 392 Comments

Comment posted by Michael Lowe on April 16, 2012 at 10:56 AM

Nice shot, Wayne. I have never been able to shoot these successfully. i don't have a wind break. Get up early before the slightest breeze kicks up and they're still closed, wait until later and they close back up. I'm going to have to get serious and get a tent.

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

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on April 16, 2012 at 12:12 PM

Good processing to highlight the bloom and partially opened bud, Wayne

Water Drops add to the aesthetics as they usually do for Flora shots.

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

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on April 16, 2012 at 5:41 PM

Very nice! Great color and detail in the flower. I especially like the inclusion of the bud in the image and the water drop on the tip of the lefthand petal.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Albert Darmo on April 16, 2012 at 6:08 PM

Hi Wayne

Love everything about it

even the title

perfectly composed with splendid color, and detail

Also one of my favorite wildflowers but i can't remember the name???
Albert Darmo

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on April 16, 2012 at 6:57 PM

Wayne, DOF is perfect, composition is very pleasing, and the subjects are so very sharp. Really nice.

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

Comment posted by Miro Susta on April 17, 2012 at 3:10 AM

Excellent image,. Beautiful colors & excellent DOF.

Registered on August 18, 2006, 719 Posts, 3736 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on April 17, 2012 at 11:06 AM

Lovely capture Wayne. A nicely balanced between the two flowers .

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on April 17, 2012 at 11:32 AM

Your flora work is always such a treat. Excellent comps, exposures, subject, and color.

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

Comment posted by Craig Strand on April 17, 2012 at 12:43 PM

Love the colors of this wildflower and also how you framed 3 stages of opening beginning with the cluster of buds. Very nicely done Wayne.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 17, 2012 at 5:40 PM

I love these also and know how hard it can be to find ones with the strong purple color. Your DOF is perfect and those water drops are great additions. One of the best spring beauty shots that I've seen.

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

Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on April 18, 2012 at 4:20 PM

Wayne, this flower is surely worth a bit of rain. A beautiful photo of a beautiful flower in its natural atmosphere.
Cheers.

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

Comment posted by Wayne Jones on April 19, 2012 at 8:44 PM

Thanks everyone.

ALBERT -- You will laugh when you read the name of this flower! This plant's common name seems to be causing a lot of confusion because it sounds more like a descriptive title than the name of a flower. I know of two plants in this region that share the name "spring beauty." This one -- Claytonia virginica -- is often called "Virginia spring beauty," and there is another with apparently identical flowers (but shorter, wider leaves) -- Claytonia caroliniana -- called the "Carolina spring beauty." I think most people just call them "spring beauty."

Registered on April 18, 2007, 953 Posts, 6435 Comments