Tiger Lily #2

[Ed Vatza]

My wife and I took a nice long walk along the Delaware Canal towpath in the Upper Black Eddy (I just like that name :)) area this morning. Along the way, there were hundreds and hundreds of Tiger Lilies but this one backlit by the morning sun really attracted my attention. I liked the light and I liked the angle of the bloom so I went to work with it. I made images at f/11, f/8 and f/5.6 and find that I like the images at f/5.6 the best. So here is one of them. I have to say that the longer I look at this image, the less sure I feel about it. Your thoughts?

Canon 30D; Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens at 200mm; Natural backlight.

1/400 sec at f/5.6; ISO 200; +1/3 EV

[Mike Moats]

Hey Ed. I like the lighting and BG. Good details and pose, which could work as a vertical as well.

[Ed Vatza]

Hey Ed. I like the lighting and BG. Good details and pose, which could work as a vertical as well.

Funny you should mention that straight out of the box, Mike. When I made the image, I visualized it as presented. In order to make it work, I had to tilt the camera a bit and, given the degree of tilt, the camera turned it into a vertical. I looked at it and thought - hey this works as a vert as well! But I stuck with the horizontal since that was my original vision.

[Julie Kenward]

I could see it going either way as well. I like this quite a bit - especially the shadow of the stamen shining through the bottom petal. I wonder if there could be a tweak of the yellow between the green stem and the orange petals? That might make it pop a bit more. Very nicely seen, Ed. I love that you "make" images and not "take" images.

[Ed Vatza]

Very nicely seen, Ed. I love that you "make" images and not "take" images.

Julie,

I can't begin to express the gratitude for all that I have learned here over the past several months. When I look back on some of the first images that I posted, I am horrified. Well not horrified but you know what I mean. I feel that I have come a long way with the help of way too many folks here to mention. And I feel that I have just begun the journey.

I'm pushing 60 and I have a vision. That vision is that when I am ready to retire from my marketing career, I will be ready to slide right into a part-time nature photography business which I would hope to have up and running by then. Hopefully by then my images will be of the quality that folks will be interested in buying. Oh and my vision has me doing this in coastal Maine but I am afraid I will have kidnap my wife.:eek::D She likes vacationing there but isn't interested in moving! :(

[Gus Cobos]

Very nice Ed,
I like the pleasing mellow background and the rich vibrant hues of your flower. My personal taste, I like this composition in a vertical...:D

[Ed Vatza]

Six of one; half a dozen of another, Gus. I'll have to make a print and take turns hanging it as a vertical and a horizontal and see what people say! :)