Rising Sun

Gallery: FloraPosted March 20, 2015188 views6 comments

Sony A77
Sony 70-400G @ 300mm
ISO 200, 1/6 @ f11

Ever since I was a kid growing up in southern Indiana I've always liked redbuds. They're the first splash of color in the spring after a dreary winter and a herald of better times to come. We have a couple of varieties in our yard and planted this Rising Sun last year. This is its first spring to bloom. The red blossoms are pretty cool but the new leaves fascinate me as well. This bunch is one of the first to emerge and are only about 3/4 inch long now. I like the subtle colors in the leaves in this version. I had previsualized this comp with the dark leaves of the trees across the street as a BG and was hoping for some morning backlight on the leaves. Alas the sun has been AWOL and I wanted to catch the leaves before they got much bigger so I went ahead and shot them this morning despite the cloudy conditions. At least the light let the colors come through nicely.

Well, the rest of the story is that after I put the camera away and sat down to grab some coffee and light breakfast there shows up this break in the clouds and here comes the sun! I grabbed the gear, reset the comp and got the second version which is in the first comment below. The sun faded pretty quickly but i still got more of what I had originally planned for. Let me know if you have any preference. All comments welcome. >=))>

Comments

6 comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 20, 2015 at 1:35 PM

And here is the second version. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Alberto Patiño on March 20, 2015 at 4:18 PM

Bill, although they are both beautiful, I much prefer the one under cloudy conditions!!! I think that the light is more "unique", the detail on the leaves generally clearer, and all in all a more mysterious and captivating composition!

Registered on December 2, 2014, 278 Posts, 1736 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 20, 2015 at 4:55 PM

Bill, I like the warm version. Given a choice like this, warm is preferable for me, as long as you don't go overboard. I go by the rim light on the twigs—if they are blue, you have work to do. Using color balance in PS, if you move the blue/yellow slider to the left for the highlights and shadows, you will get almost identical coloration that is in your second image. IMO, if you fall outside the colors as seen by the eye in a sunlight situation, You can wind up with a lot of different colors, not many of them preferable to "natural".

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

Comment posted by Julia Flanagan on March 20, 2015 at 6:17 PM

This is a good example of how light changes everything. I love the color in the leaves on the first, but the BG color not so much. I love the BG color in the second better, and although the leaves in the second are very lovely and interesting, I prefer the first. I just seem to have a personal problem with bluish/green BGs. How you have caught the rim lights is great in both and the tender look of the new leaves is very appealing - sort of like a newly emerged butterfly drying its wings.

Registered on November 13, 2003, 59 Posts, 986 Comments

Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on March 22, 2015 at 7:51 PM

I'm always amazed by the variety of color in new leaves. "natures' first green is gold" and also pink, red, purple and bronze. These colors are lovely. I like the warmth of the second version but prefer the first for its' 'tenderness' the colors there give the image a vulnerability that is less pronounced in the second version. Both are quite nice

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

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on March 23, 2015 at 9:21 AM

Quite a difference, Bill between the two shots !! I love the subtle tones of the first but then the bold play of the yellows on the dark green and black is very appealing also. I guess there is just a touch more ` mood ' in the first so I'll plump for that !

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