Raindrops on Lilies

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 11, 2013483 views23 comments

Had a wild weather day yesterday, with torrential downpours interspersed with bursts of sunshine. This left a great collection of water drops and small puddles on the lily pads in my pond. This is a look at one group of pads taken with the polarizer rotated to maximize the sky's reflection. (The result is different from a no polarizer view...see my test results in the flora forum.) Post processed with TK's triple play and some luminosity painting. (5D3, 100mm macro L, 1/50s, f/16, iso 200, -1 EV, tripod and polarizer)

Comments

23 comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on June 11, 2013 at 3:42 PM

Gorgeous Mark. A very refreshing image.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on June 11, 2013 at 3:50 PM

Love the richly saturated colors and stunning details. Absolutely beautiful!

Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on June 11, 2013 at 4:07 PM

Mark, I totally agree with Phil and Nancy....Refreshing and Beautiful.Very cool looking at this. Excellent work!
Edit: After coming back to this and looking again I see lily pads that so much look like frogs looking back at me. The water drops add so much...like eyes. No wonder they live in this environment that they could blend in with so well.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on June 11, 2013 at 4:25 PM

Beautiful Mark. I wish I could find lily pads this pretty somewhere. Very nicely done.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Chet Dowell on June 11, 2013 at 5:03 PM

I like this image a lot Mark. The color, clarity and repeating shapes all outstanding. Chet

Registered on December 3, 2012, 237 Posts, 1171 Comments

Comment posted by Ted Gore on June 11, 2013 at 5:22 PM

I think the composition, subject, and conditions are excellent. My only critique would be that it feels like there is too much contrast and/or clarity. The darks feel really dark.

Registered on April 25, 2013, 36 Posts, 149 Comments

Comment posted by Todd Liotine on June 11, 2013 at 5:27 PM

Mark, This is really nice as everyone has mentioned. My only thought would be to crop out the yellow pad on the bottom it just pulls the eye away from the photo.

Registered on July 1, 2008, 131 Posts, 671 Comments

Comment posted by scott lanz on June 11, 2013 at 6:18 PM

I like the rich, vibrant colors, Mark, and the voluminous round water drops. I am torn about the bottom yellow leaf. It is distracting, but I don't want to lose any of the round leaf above it or have that leaf too close to the bottom. Terrific either way.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Hilton on June 11, 2013 at 7:10 PM

"I think the composition, subject, and conditions are excellent. My only critique would be that it feels like there is too much contrast and/or clarity. The darks feel really dark.

IMHO that's what make the shot for me...
I like this a lot Mark...

Registered on September 19, 2011, 68 Posts, 668 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on June 11, 2013 at 7:28 PM

Gorgeous work Mark! Love the detail and lush color throughout. BTW - I think it is the contrast that makes this work, at least for me.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Harding on June 11, 2013 at 8:02 PM

A really nice shot Mark. I love the patterns in the water droplets. But I have to agree with the comments above. I would try lifting the shadows a little.

Registered on January 19, 2011, 33 Posts, 408 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on June 11, 2013 at 8:30 PM

This is a visual treat, lots for the eye to wander about and enjoy in this scene, Mark. I like the fact that there are a couple of different colored lily pads and those water drops are very striking IMO. My only suggestion would be to dial the contrast back just a touch as Ted already mentioned. All subjective of course as others like it for that reason.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on June 11, 2013 at 11:21 PM

Wonderful, vibrant color. The water drops and your overall composition make this really an amazing image. Really cool to see images of your pond through the seasons.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on June 12, 2013 at 4:36 AM

Love those water drops. Luscious and rich. Great shot Mark.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by John&Patty Benway on June 12, 2013 at 5:56 AM

Gorgeous Mark, love the water drops, perfect in every way.
John

Registered on May 12, 2006, 626 Posts, 8700 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on June 12, 2013 at 7:43 AM

Just luscious Mark, wonderful!!! Personal-taste nit, I would get rid of the edges of the leaves at the very top of the frame and crop them out. Minor, great work.

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on June 12, 2013 at 9:25 AM

You have found a unique and personal subject here, Mark. Really like your style with these images.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on June 12, 2013 at 3:44 PM

An exceptional beauty for me, Mark. The overlapping leaves make for a most interesting repetitive pattern to me, while the drops add a kind of three-dimensional character. Great work to my eye.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 12, 2013 at 5:20 PM

Beautiful and bold. Wonderful detail, especially the droplets.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on June 12, 2013 at 11:58 PM

Fantastic image! I like the reflections in the water drops a lot. Maybe the areas of water not covered by a lily pad are a little contrast heavy. What if you tried blending in those areas from another frame that was polarized to cut the reflections in just those areas.????

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 13, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Outstanding Mark! No nits or suggestions. Great job with the detail/focus front to back. Wonderful image, congrats!

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by William Baer on June 15, 2013 at 1:40 PM

Very nice! Super clear! I love the water droplets on the lily leaves. Nice composition and great color. This is one of my favorite types of shots. Great Photography!

Registered on April 1, 2013, 60 Posts, 51 Comments

Comment posted by Roger Kirchen on June 16, 2013 at 10:57 AM

Gorgeous image, Mark. I do like the fesh, saturated colors. Plus the water drops, off course. Let's see: we already had the ongoing downpours .. all I need are the vision and skill to try this

Registered on March 6, 2011, 95 Posts, 847 Comments