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Buttonbush - WC 581
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Buttonbush - WC 581

by Wayne Jones

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted April 24, 2013105 views3 comments
This is one of my favorite wetland flowers. They often grow right on the edge of local waters, and where I live, they are almost impossible to reach by land because of the soft, wet ground and thick tangles of plants. That's where a canoe or kayak comes in. On shallow shorelines, I can nose my boat into the weeds and plunge my paddle into the muck to steady the boat for a steady shot sitting in the boat. For this one, my canoe was so steady that I could even use a flexible-arm clamp on the side of the boat to hold my reflector to balance the bright sunshine.

Canon 50D
Sigma 17-70; Circ. Polarizer
1/125 sec. @ f/11; ISO 200
Hand-held from canoe

Comments

3 comments
Comment posted by John Clulow on April 25, 2013 at 6:40 AM
I like the sphereical shapes, the dynamic range and off-center placement of the flower and the nice bokeh you achieved in the background even at f/11. Looks like acceptable sharpness throughout the flowers themselves. Portions of the stem and its leaves seem a bit soft, but not a problem for me since the flower head is the subject.

I also think that the diagonal, going from left to right, is helpful in leading the eye to the subject, not that any help is needed, really as is the framing provided by the horizontal and vertical leaves.

One minor thing I would suggest would be to consider cloning out the white flower that is showing at the bottom; bright spots can be distracting, at least to my eye, especially near an edge. I think this would be pretty easy to eliminate unless you think it is contributing something to the image.

Registered on November 1, 2012, 155 Posts, 1079 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Rebmann on April 25, 2013 at 10:32 AM
Nice work! Buttonbush flowers are so tricky since they like to bounce and wave in the slightest breeze.

Paul
Registered on July 17, 2012, 31 Posts, 122 Comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on April 26, 2013 at 10:42 AM
Wow, very sharp details of this intricate flower, particularly since shot handheld and from a boat. Don't believe I've ever seen this flower before so this was interesting to view, especially in the larger version. Great angled comp and good DOF choice. I'm ambivalent about the OOF flower on the bottom, whether to clone out or not. . .but either way, it's a minor issue. Great shot, Wayne. :smile:
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments