We Are The Campions!

[Ed Vatza]

(With apologies to Queen :))

White Campion from this morning. Image made along a small mill race in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Canon 30D; Sigma 150mm Macro; Canon 430 EX Flash w/ LumiQuest Softbox; Tripod-mounted w/ Novoflex Focusing Rail

1/25 sec at f/16; ISP 800; -1/3 EV; FEC -1

[Mike Moats]

Hey Ed, nice to see a different view. Good details and a nice BG. I think this image would also work well as a vertical.

[Ed Vatza]

Hey Ed, nice to see a different view. Good details and a nice BG. I think this image would also work well as a vertical.

Thanks Mike. I had previously photographed the Campion head on but I really like the profile perspective with the pod behind the flower. I keep experimenting. Little by little. :)

[John Cooper]

Hi Ed - you are becoming quite a master with these floral compositions!!
I really like this presentation showing excellent exposure, detail and BG. Very well done!!
If I was to nit-pick I would suggest cloning out that vertical hair laying across the lower bud which I find a minor distraction.

[Bob Allen]

Quite lovely. You did a great job of exposing those whites without blowing them out, tough to do with white flowers. I like this side view; note the vein details on the sepals, important for campion identification.

Backlighting on the sepal hairs is very nice. I really appreciate how the styles are easily seen projecting from the flower. Where are the long stamens for which campions are known? Probably in the flower and will elongate later, as many flowers do. Yes, you can see the styles starting to emerge from the nearby bud, before the petals. Thus, this photo has aesthetic as well as scientific value. Clearly, you recognize that the petals are not the only interesting part of a flower. To paraphrase Artie, "it ain't just petals".

I agree with John that the hairs/dust on the sepals and some of the styles have got to go. Campions are quite sticky and capture everything that flies by them. I keep forceps handy for such removals. I would also like to see just a bit more of the stalk on the right.

Oh, and nice reference to Queen ;7)

[Ed Vatza]

Quite lovely. You did a great job of exposing those whites without blowing them out, tough to do with white flowers. I like this side view; note the vein details on the sepals, important for campion identification.

Backlighting on the sepal hairs is very nice. I really appreciate how the styles are easily seen projecting from the flower. Where are the long stamens for which campions are known? Probably in the flower and will elongate later, as many flowers do. Yes, you can see the styles starting to emerge from the nearby bud, before the petals. Thus, this photo has aesthetic as well as scientific value. Clearly, you recognize that the petals are not the only interesting part of a flower. To paraphrase Artie, "it ain't just petals".

I agree with John that the hairs/dust on the sepals and some of the styles have got to go. Campions are quite sticky and capture everything that flies by them. I keep forceps handy for such removals. I would also like to see just a bit more of the stalk on the right.

Oh, and nice reference to Queen ;7)

Thanks, Bob. I really appreciate the comments and feedback. The first time I went out to photograph the Campions, I did a series of head-on images. But as I looked at them, I couldn't help but feel there was a lot more to communicate about the Campion than would come across in a head-on image. So back I went. This was one of the images from Day 2 with the Campions.