We used to do a theme every month or so but I've been remiss in keeping up the practice so I'm soliciting suggestions. Some I've come up with are: Unflowers - leaves, fungi, bark, etc Flora Landscape - Big scenes with prominent flowers (wildflower displays, gardens, etc) Non prime time players Flora subjects past prime or sub prime Solitaires Single blooms (portraits) Duets Pairs of flowers Harsh Light Shots taken in what we consider less than flattering, i.e. bright light Wide Angle flora Flower shots taken with 24mm or shorter lenses
I had an interesting e-mail exchange this week with a very respected NPN member. One thing that came out of the conversation was the tendency of a gallery to get into a conventional style. I don't want Flora to become a portrait/abstract only gallery. Please add your suggestions for themes and any other suggestions to keep ours the finest Flora gallery on the planet.
How about a holiday theme for some months ?
GARISH flowers for October's Halloween, Red white and blue (all in same photo) for july, Red and green for christmas, orange for November's Thanksgiving, Lillies for Easter month, etc
I understand what you mean Bill. Also comments, suggestions, weekly peaks can draw towards a normalization. Sometimes I feel this in myself too. I try: special texture and flowers, special lights: sunset, evening ecc., others lifes on the flowers, flowers in the sky or water, flowers in a landscape, breaking the rules, flowers out of the box, the feelings of the flowers, poetic flower images, minimalistic floral photo ... and so on.
Good point, Bill. The same "meal" day in and day out gets boring, so we Flora photographers need to look at different approaches and different subjects to make sure our "meals" aren't boring. One suggestion might be a series of development from bud or seed pod to full bloom. Another might be to present images within a different range of lens selection, say super macro (i.e.) 180mm +; then 100mm, maybe a small or large zoom range, etc. Lighting techniques could be a subject all its' own. It's still the finest Flora forum on the planet, let's include the universe, too!
This is a great topic!!! I feel the need to keep it different, new, and variable...find my creativity with the subject. As Ecclesiastes points out, "there is nothing new under the sun." Easy to fall into the rut of single blossoms, centered, etc. But we must try: still life; studio-like; garden vignettes; textures; b/w; sepia; multiple blossoms ...not single blossom; best bokeh; foliage-only; vegetables(there have been awesome still life of fruit/veggies...but, I never see any here at NPN...Wondered if veggies were off-limits...?); flowers boxes; garden pathways; flowers and structures...such as flowers on rock walls, flowers climbing in stone cracks, flowers and pots.
Bill: I think this is a great idea, although portraits and abstracts have still kept me thinking out of the box because I was mostly a landscape photographer, but I always love the idea of an assignment and topics force us to expand our creative visions... I'm all for it!
Another thing I would like to see added to NPN is to see the weekly editor picks within a gallery. I can search on Flora within the weekly picks gallery but it isn't perfect. BEing able to see the very best within each gallery would be a great help... sorted by date from most recent to older... just another thought
The Flora forum has always had more photographers that take images of cultured flowers in backyards, city gardens, etc than those that work wildflowers. And the former tend to be more artsy in the ways they present their subjects reflecting the amount of equipment they conveninetly bring to bear as well as the level of post processing to do so. Conversely those out in natural environments are more apt to work with a limited set of tools, make images of wildflowers against their local settings, and be more conservative regarding types of manipulation and post processing.
Generally cultured flowers have been developed to be large, exceptionally colorful, and structurally gaudy while natural wildflowers are generally more likely to be imperfect, rather variable in form and color, and in challenging environments of limited, often poor background possibilities. So in the above sense the Flora Forum is about two sets of enthusiasts that share some common skills and goals. Many dabble in both realms while others like this person work exclusively in only one of the two.
With wildflowers, one of the primary challenges is finding an exceptional subject amid often countless individual plants with varying intimate landscape backgrounds. Without resorting to manipulative post processing, there are a few basic ways one may image a full flower which I'll list a few that might be used as themes.
Against a dark background. Often a good choice that occurs naturally especially early and late in a day. And one a photographer can often effect by causing a shadow behind a subject or using flash in an otherwise dim setting.
Against the blue sky. An even blue sky background can be a wonderful color complement to flowers subjects. However with many species being low to the ground, getting a flower up against the sky without being against other plants, trees, and landforms can be quite a challenge.
Against an evenly colored out of focus distant background. This creates an image similar to the above blue sky but of a different color and texture. For instance a flower against a background of an out of focus red sandstone wall or against a nearby out of focus stream.
Against a marginally out of focus though well illuminated near background. This is the most common way wildflowers are imaged and the result is usually mediocre. Due to depth of field limitations it is usually difficult or impossible to find backgrounds close enough to flowers to result in both being in focus. However sometimes this works well if the blurry background creates good complementary patterns.
Against an equidistant near background in equivalent light with a lens fully stopped down that shows a flower in its local setting. This is the most difficult situation to find and often the most prized when the background is interesting on its own as for example a flower right up against a colorful lichen covered boulder.
Discussion
10 repliesUnflowers - leaves, fungi, bark, etc
Flora Landscape - Big scenes with prominent flowers (wildflower displays, gardens, etc)
Non prime time players Flora subjects past prime or sub prime
Solitaires Single blooms (portraits)
Duets Pairs of flowers
Harsh Light Shots taken in what we consider less than flattering, i.e. bright light
Wide Angle flora Flower shots taken with 24mm or shorter lenses
I had an interesting e-mail exchange this week with a very respected NPN member. One thing that came out of the conversation was the tendency of a gallery to get into a conventional style. I don't want Flora to become a portrait/abstract only gallery. Please add your suggestions for themes and any other suggestions to keep ours the finest Flora gallery on the planet.
GARISH flowers for October's Halloween, Red white and blue (all in same photo) for july, Red and green for christmas, orange for November's Thanksgiving, Lillies for Easter month, etc
Sandy r
A series of a given scene from different angles.
Duets can give rise to triplets.
Weeds
Seeds ...
Carol
Pat
Another thing I would like to see added to NPN is to see the weekly editor picks within a gallery. I can search on Flora within the weekly picks gallery but it isn't perfect. BEing able to see the very best within each gallery would be a great help... sorted by date from most recent to older... just another thought
Generally cultured flowers have been developed to be large, exceptionally colorful, and structurally gaudy while natural wildflowers are generally more likely to be imperfect, rather variable in form and color, and in challenging environments of limited, often poor background possibilities. So in the above sense the Flora Forum is about two sets of enthusiasts that share some common skills and goals. Many dabble in both realms while others like this person work exclusively in only one of the two.
With wildflowers, one of the primary challenges is finding an exceptional subject amid often countless individual plants with varying intimate landscape backgrounds. Without resorting to manipulative post processing, there are a few basic ways one may image a full flower which I'll list a few that might be used as themes.
Against a dark background. Often a good choice that occurs naturally especially early and late in a day. And one a photographer can often effect by causing a shadow behind a subject or using flash in an otherwise dim setting.
Against the blue sky. An even blue sky background can be a wonderful color complement to flowers subjects. However with many species being low to the ground, getting a flower up against the sky without being against other plants, trees, and landforms can be quite a challenge.
Against an evenly colored out of focus distant background. This creates an image similar to the above blue sky but of a different color and texture. For instance a flower against a background of an out of focus red sandstone wall or against a nearby out of focus stream.
Against a marginally out of focus though well illuminated near background. This is the most common way wildflowers are imaged and the result is usually mediocre. Due to depth of field limitations it is usually difficult or impossible to find backgrounds close enough to flowers to result in both being in focus. However sometimes this works well if the blurry background creates good complementary patterns.
Against an equidistant near background in equivalent light with a lens fully stopped down that shows a flower in its local setting. This is the most difficult situation to find and often the most prized when the background is interesting on its own as for example a flower right up against a colorful lichen covered boulder.