Indian Pipe and the OOF Ghost Plant.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Actually, they are both the same species but known by these two names (and also aptly known as "Corpse Plant"). I usually see only a cluster here and there, but in this area (at the cottage) there were many clusters sprouting up - offering some interesting compositional opprtunities. This is the best separation I could get, with my cheek literaly on the forest floor - with a swamp to the left, and trees behind me. A bit of strategical "leaf grooming/removal" was physically done before taking the images.

Canon 40D + Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens @ 65mm + 20mm extention tube, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/200s., f/4, ISO 800, natural light, full-frame.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w98/dancad/tn_IndianPipe_5328-01.jpg

[Steve Maxson]

I like the comp with the OOF plants in the background. Good detail in the whites and nice sharpness in the flower portion of the subject plants. I would wish for a little more DOF so the stems were sharp - but that would bring up too much detail in the nicely blurred background. When I am taking ground level shots like this, I find that using a right-angle viewfinder really saves the day (or I should say - saves my neck :) ).

[Julie Kenward]

Daniel, first let me just say that your cover image is GORGEOUS! If you all haven't seen it click on the main page and check it out.

I like the subject matter here and I certainly appreciate the "being on the forest floor" angle that it took to get it. For me, though, the BG is just not working. The white plants in the back are too OOF for me to grasp

[BillTyler]

I have no problem with the OOF background, and I like the visual rhythm of the repetitions. I'd like to see a little more detail in the whites of the subject plant. (I'm away from my calibrated monitor at the moment, so this observation may be an artifact of the uncalibrated monitor I'm using.)

Bill

[Thomas Herou]

Nice comp and setting.
Is the plant really so white in Canada?Very intresting.
In Sweden these flowers are more ivory or cream white and they are called Pinetree Herb,translated.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Julie, thanks for the cover image "plug"! Much appreciated :-)

I knew when I posted this image that it would be a "like or not like" type image, your honest reply is also much appreciated. Luckily for you I also took some more conventional images of this intriguing plant, so keep an eye out for a future posting!

Thomas, yes they are this white - sometimes even more so. They do darken with age until they are basically dry and black. There are also some pink variations of this species, although those are a much rarer occurence.

[Anita Bower]

This is a very nice photo of Indian Pipe! I really like the selective focus and the composition. Lovely light. The OOF plants in the BG work well for me. I like everything about it. Perhaps I have extra appreciation for this image since I have tried photographing these plants and have been unsuccessful.