A Lens First?

[Arthur Morris]

I had too much fun in Holland. For whatever reason I brought my 600 II into the huge conservancy. And had a blast.

This tulip flower center (Beauty of Spryng) image was created at the Willem-Alexander Pavilion at Keukenhof, Lisse, Holland with the tripod-mounted Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM lens,a Canon Extension Tube EF 25 II, the Canon 1.4x EF tele-extender III, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital camera body. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/5 sec. at f/16 in Manual mode. Manual focus on the distal end of the pistil.

To see more tulip images made with the 600II and learn about working with TCs and Extension tubes on long lenses, see the great blog post here (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2013/04/21/a-lens-first/) (he said modestly). :S3:

As for the image, don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

Very fun colors here, with the sunny yellows, the orange streaks and rims and the subtle shades of purple.

Nice DOF, highlights the point of interest while simplifying the BG.

I might consider removing the tiny dark spot on the stem along the right frame edge, and would also remove the tiny sliver of orange on the extreme right frame edge.

That lens choice would not have been my first thought for macro!

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Randy. I actually removed the tiny bit of orange when I created the JPEG for the Nature's Best Contest today. I looked tonight before posting and did not see it.... Still jet-lagged :)

[Jonathan Ashton]

I love the colours and the exposure is superb. I like the image as presented if I would change anything it would be:
1 Brush over the darker band on the LHS - just to blend it a little
2 Remove the small orange bit of flower far RHS.
3 I would be tempted to add a little bit more sharpening just to see the effect.

The other thing which I have previously mentioned and I don't know if it going to be possible: The image when viewed has a frame to it on three sides, I think all images would look infinitely better if framed on all four sides. This shot in particular has prompted me to raise the point because the image looks a little lopsided.... and it isn't.

[Gary Esman]

Loving the bright spring pastel colors. The yellow with the orange tip are very nice.

Gary.

[Norm Dulak]

For whatever reason I brought my 600 II into the huge conservancy. And had a blast.



Hi Arthur.

I really would like to know why you chose this lens and extension tube combination. Do you feel that it offers advantages over the use of more traditional macro lenses?

I'm sure that many of us would like to know.

[Arthur Morris]

Reach and a narrower angle of view for starters. There is lots more on the blog post that is linked to above.

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Arthur,
I like the colors and composition with the petals framing the top. Unique image with the lower petal adding to the effect. Well done.

Allen

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Allen, Denise Ippolito showed the group how tulips with one damaged (or drooping) petal can be great subjects as the flower centers are revealed as here.

[Arthur Morris]

I love the colours and the exposure is superb. I like the image as presented if I would change anything it would be:
1 Brush over the darker band on the LHS - just to blend it a little
2 Remove the small orange bit of flower far RHS.
3 I would be tempted to add a little bit more sharpening just to see the effect.

The other thing which I have previously mentioned and I don't know if it going to be possible: The image when viewed has a frame to it on three sides, I think all images would look infinitely better if framed on all four sides. This shot in particular has prompted me to raise the point because the image looks a little lopsided.... and it isn't.

Thanks Jon. The repost addresses all of your suggestions. I have no clue as to where the frame comes from.... In addition I made one other minor improvement; does anyone see it?

[Anita Bower]

The colors and shapes of this flower are lovely. I like looking into the flower and seeing the beautiful design. The red-orange rimmed yellow of the petals is stunning. The busy green background, however, doesn't work for me, nor does the lack of balance in this otherwise symmetrical composition. I've taken the liberty of making some quick adjustments: cropping, using Skew to straighten the bottom, painting the bg dark green, cloning a stray thread, and adding contrast in Viveza. Just another version for you to consider.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Anita. The repost looks great. Can you explain what you did to the BKGR?

[Anita Bower]

Arthur: Glad you like the repost. What I did was to duplicate the background layer, use the eyedropper tool to select one of the greens from the green area, painted in the green area with a soft brush set at about 75% opacity. I then created a layer mask and using a soft black brush, painted out the areas on the tulip where I'd accidentally gone over the edge with the green. Here is a picture showing the layers. The image in this post is not the one I did initially, so the green is a slightly different color.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Artie. A beautiful flower and a nice demo of the unconventional 840 mm "macro" lens! Excellent sharpness within the center of the flower. I like what Anita did with the comp - I was going to suggest something similar as an alternate comp, but she beat me to it. :S3:

[Jonathan Ashton]

Anita gets a thumbs up from me too. Artie I keep looking at your repost but haven't spotted the difference??

[Arthur Morris]

Anita gets a thumbs up from me too. Artie I keep looking at your repost but haven't spotted the difference??

Hi Jon, In Pane 10 I eliminated the brown circle on the leaf near the right frame edge....

[Arthur Morris]

Arthur: Glad you like the repost. What I did was to duplicate the background layer, use the eyedropper tool to select one of the greens from the green area, painted in the green area with a soft brush set at about 75% opacity. I then created a layer mask and using a soft black brush, painted out the areas on the tulip where I'd accidentally gone over the edge with the green. Here is a picture showing the layers. The image in this post is not the one I did initially, so the green is a slightly different color.

Tanks a stack Anita. When you say "painted," may I assumed that you used the Brush Tool (rather than 1 click with the Paint Bucket)? I am sure the former but just wanted to check.

[Arthur Morris]

ps: I like the lighter background greens in the screen capture in Pane 13 and the lower contrast better than in the repost, FWIW. Thanks again for your time and effort.