Comments and critics on the composition more than welcome.
So it turned out the campsite was on i195, so we drove down to kings canyon one day.
Even though it's july, there's still tons of flowers blooming, including lupines etc.
We did hit the very nice 13 mile lakes trail (to Pear lake), and a 6 mile trail in Redwood canyon, and this photo was from the Muir Grove hike.
I'm kinda disappointed in the quality of the photos I took, in particular I had a really hard time managing the high contrasts from the bright sun, in particular when I was taking portraits of people. I did obtain a few decent compositions... Maybe 1% success rate. :-)
I did see 3 bears over 2 occasions and deers hiked the trails with us.
Posted by David Senesac on July 11, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Welcome to the world of wildflowers. I was pretty much the same way for many years just concentrating on landscapes while wildflower closeups only incidentally. The little things take more effort to notice and isolating an ideal subject among millions of similar flowers is not easy. There is a whole world of interest there that goes beyond the images much like is the case with avian photography. One gets to know the plants by name, then their scientific latin names, when they bloom, other flowers that tend to grow with them, where they grow, the variety of their form, shapes, and color.. Capturing wildflowers closeups requires a whole other photographic strategy than landscapes including some additional equipment. It is easy to capture wildflowers in better softer light even in mid day sun or in shade simply by using umbrellas. Well as long as a air is calm. Novices would do well to use the Flora forum on this board as there is considerable talent producing excellent images and the participants tend to offer advice more often than one would expect elsewhere. Two key facets of wildflower compositions among several others are subject isolation and focus. One needs to find subjects that will stand out against pleasant non distracting backgrounds. For instance a sunlit flower in front of shadows or a distant out of focus background of complementary or neutral colors. And one needs subjects that one can fully be captured with available depth of field. Thus some 3-dimension flowers like columbine or irises need to be backed off of enough distance if one intends to render the full flower the subject tact sharp in order for it to look professional on a larger print. There is of course far more, not all of which will be found in books.
Posted by Richard Wong on July 14, 2008 at 2:57 AM
Sounds like quite a trip. I'm not sure I could offer any suggestions to improve this photo as it's not working for me at all. It is quite chaotic. I guess a macro lens portrait of the open blue flower would have worked out.
I'm not sure I could offer any suggestions to improve this photo as it's not working for me at all.
LOL! :)
Two key facets of wildflower compositions among several others are subject isolation and focus.
The purpose of this shot was to concentrate on the flower in bloom, but relate it to its nearby environment. I found the bouquet with the pinecone quite pleasing to look at. So the point was to attract the eye to it, while at the same time not erasing all the surrounding.
One thing I don't want to do (yet?) is a pure "portrait" of the flower itself, it's too trivial, and the shot becomes good only if it is tak sharp etc. or if it becomes an abstract of shapes. I did take a few photos of flowers that turned good, but I'm not pleased with them because they're just that. A photo of a specific flower. It's the difference between a photo of a piece of furniture (factual/descriptive), and a photo of a person in a house with furniture and stuff (more emotional, fleeting moment).
I'm more used to take photos of large expansive views, and this mini comp for me is like a mini forest...
David, Richard, thanks for the interresting feedbacks. I enjoyed reading them.
Discussion
3 repliesComments and critics on the composition more than welcome.
So it turned out the campsite was on i195, so we drove down to kings canyon one day.
Even though it's july, there's still tons of flowers blooming, including lupines etc.
We did hit the very nice 13 mile lakes trail (to Pear lake), and a 6 mile trail in Redwood canyon, and this photo was from the Muir Grove hike.
I'm kinda disappointed in the quality of the photos I took, in particular I had a really hard time managing the high contrasts from the bright sun, in particular when I was taking portraits of people. I did obtain a few decent compositions... Maybe 1% success rate. :-)
I did see 3 bears over 2 occasions and deers hiked the trails with us.
LOL! :)
The purpose of this shot was to concentrate on the flower in bloom, but relate it to its nearby environment. I found the bouquet with the pinecone quite pleasing to look at. So the point was to attract the eye to it, while at the same time not erasing all the surrounding.
One thing I don't want to do (yet?) is a pure "portrait" of the flower itself, it's too trivial, and the shot becomes good only if it is tak sharp etc. or if it becomes an abstract of shapes. I did take a few photos of flowers that turned good, but I'm not pleased with them because they're just that. A photo of a specific flower. It's the difference between a photo of a piece of furniture (factual/descriptive), and a photo of a person in a house with furniture and stuff (more emotional, fleeting moment).
I'm more used to take photos of large expansive views, and this mini comp for me is like a mini forest...
David, Richard, thanks for the interresting feedbacks. I enjoyed reading them.