Botanics plant.

[Ian McHenry]

Took this picture at the local botanics.
Pentax K10D with 18-55 Kit lens @ 55mm.
1/3 crop from original.
1/125 @ F8, 200 ISO. No EV compensation.
Muti-segment metering.
No flash.
Comments welcome.
Ian McHenry

[Robert O'Toole]

Thats a pitcher plant? I like the colors and the shapes a lot. They almost look like huge red smooth peanuts.

I think a little cropping maybe from the left would tighten the comp up a bit.

Robert

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Robert I had a hunch it might be a pitcher plant !! LOL.
Here is a re-edit.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[John Cooper]

The pitcher plants sure are intersing insect traps Ian. I find though that there is just a bit too much going on here.
Isolating just 1,2 or 3 pitchers with emphasis placed on their interesting entrances would give loads more impact. The beauty with local Botanical Gardens is that you can always return for a re-run ;)

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks John.
Will keep it in mind for my next trip.

[Ed Vatza]

The details are excellent. The color looks great and the image is very sharp. And the second image looks the better of the two. But I have to agree that it does look very busy. But then I am simple kind of guy! ;)

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Ed.
Me too !!!
Cheers: Ian Mc

[Mike Moats]

Hey Ian, I think you did a great job overall of a very interesting plant. I'm with John on isolating just 1,2, or 3 at a time. Still very nice.

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Mike.
Much appreciated.
I had a longer lens in my backpack but never took it out !!!
Another lesson learnt.
Ian Mc.

[Bob Allen]

I shot this for an assignment for Ripley's Believe it or not (Believe it or not, they are one of my clients). Pitchers are very shiny and are much more difficult than one would imagine. This one is grown in a hothouse, thus the distracting bright bg patches and roof support seen in the lower right region. We had to diffuse the light in an unusual manner in order to get the shot. My assistant held a dark jacket up behind the plant to kill the bright bg - doh!

Try isolating just one leaf and pitcher, so the viewer can see that the pitcher is an extension of the leaf tip, plus its unusual cap.

Sometimes the staff will take them down and hook them on a lower support, so you don't have to shoot upward and can thus eliminate the bright bg.

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Bob.
Will be using longer zoom next time.
Cheers: Ian Mc