A Light in the Darkness

Gallery: FloraPosted March 17, 2014153 views11 comments

For a while in the spring, the dark, dense evergreens forests around my home in western Oregon were dotted with bright Trillium flowers, so I headed out to try and capture how starkly they stood out from the surrounding understory. I took this particular image at dusk when there was barely any light left, and framed the flower through an opening in the dense sword fords that dominate the forest floor.

Canon 5d Mark ii, 300mm f/4 lens, 1 second at f/5.6, ISO 200, Gitzo tripod

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on March 17, 2014 at 11:08 AM

Nice lighting on the Trillium. I like your idea to show the bright Trillium in the dark forest and I think you did that very well. Nicely done, Thomas!

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

Comment posted by Nathan Buck on March 17, 2014 at 6:41 PM

A very interesting concept Thomas. The isolation worked really well. I wonder if there is a bit too much negative space in the photo overall.

Nathan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments

Comment posted by Thomas Haney on March 17, 2014 at 6:53 PM

Thanks so much for the comments. I see what you mean about the negative space Nathan, though part of me thinks that even more negative space would have been better to emphasize the isolation, though that would've come at the cost of minimizing the subject further. The truth is I find it nearly impossible to make a decision with something like that, though my wife has no problem!

Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 17, 2014 at 7:43 PM

Do what I do, Thomas. When I have a tough choice to make like this, I ask my wife which one she likes better. Then I go with her choice. It really makes life a lot easier, trust me!

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by gary phillips on March 17, 2014 at 9:05 PM

Thomas, I really like the negative space here, and the since of isolation. Just a beautiful photograph.

Registered on October 24, 2013, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments

Comment posted by Sanjay Sundaram on March 18, 2014 at 12:22 PM

Very nice Thomas. Glad you included your thoughts about the concept. The little bit of green adds a lot to the mood of the overall image. Well done!

Sanjay

Registered on April 9, 2013, 107 Posts, 725 Comments

Comment posted by Louis Pattis on March 18, 2014 at 8:11 PM

After your explanation the concept really hammers me and the thought of more negative space is intriguing, placing the trillium in different parts of the space has to be tempting. I love your risky presentation !.

Registered on March 30, 2012, 0 Posts, 164 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on March 19, 2014 at 11:26 PM

Very ethereal and seductive!
A little more negative space than needed, imo.
Great light, details, and concept!

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on March 20, 2014 at 7:49 AM

Beautiful, Thomas ! Very creative image, superbly lit. Like Nathan I might just reduce the black - but I accept that is always a difficult call. Very well done !!

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on March 22, 2014 at 5:35 PM

No doubt at all about the focal point, here, Thomas! I am ambivalent about the amount of negative space... or perhaps the ambivalence has more to do with the bit of blurred foliage behind the flower... In any case, the spotlit flower comes across well.

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

Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on March 25, 2014 at 6:13 PM

Very creative and splendid photo. Bravo!
Take care.

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