Long Lenses for Flowers...

[Arthur Morris]

This ?? was photographed in Texas with the handheld Canon 400mm f/4IS DO lens, the 1.4X II TC, and the EOS_1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/2500 sec. at f/8. (I did not want to bring up too much BKGR detail...)

Don't be shy; all comments are welcome.

A definitive ID would be appreciated :)

[ML Diggs]

It's definitely a poppy of some sort, but I don't know the specific type.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks. Denise Ippolito told me that it was a poppy; I am just trying to find out which one if possible. :)

[Alan Melle]

Looks sort of like a Chisos Prickly Poppy. I'm certainly no expert but the coloration looks good. Occurs in the Big Bend area of Texas.

[Cheryl Flory]

Lovely poppy. hope mine grow that well this summer.

if I were shooting this poppy, I would put the extra canvas on the right side for the flower face to "look into", and would do something (brighten? darken shadows?) to the blossom to help it stand out more from the background. Since poppies frequently grow in masses, I like the splotches in the background (even though they do not look like this poppy) except that the one in the lower left corner and lower center are so bright that they seems to compete for the the pale poppy for the center of attention. Showing the fuzzy stem and seed pod along with the blossom tells the complete poppy story and adds a lot of info to the image.

But, then again, I don't know much about floral or close-up photography (or photography in general for that matter yet) as you can tell by what I have submitted so far in this forum.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Arthur, nice image! I like the nice bokeh created by the long lens and the OOF flowers in the BG. Wish for a little more room on the right and a little less on the left, but that would cut right into that nice OOF flower.
Reg. ID: I'm no expert on US poppies, but it doesn't look like a prickly poppy because of the lack of spiny thorns on the fruit and stem. Prickly poppies look like thistles. If this was European, my money would be on Papaver somniferum. It's grown commercially to harvest poppy seeds from (and some illegal stuff as well in other regions of the world ;)). Was this in or close to an arable field? Those OOF flowers look like large poppies as well and P. somniferum comes in both white/pink and red varieties.

[Julie Kenward]

Hey Arthur, I was wondering when you'd make it back to the macro forum! I love long lenses when you have a nice big field of flowers ahead of you.

I really like the sharp details and the exposure on the poppy. That said, if this were my image, I'd have probably moved the bud and flower to the left side and let the negative space flow to the right since the poppy is turning in that direction.

I would also bring up the dark BG just a bit as it seems to overpower the pale poppy.

I like the bursts of red in the BG along the upper half of the frame but not too sure I like any of the ones at the bottom half as they feel cut off. I would evict the one that cuts through the stems of the poppies for sure just to give it a cleaner look.

[Ken Childs]

Most points have already been covered but if what you have here is what you have, I'd try cropping off a big chunk from the left, maybe as much as 1/3. Those red flowers in the lower part are a bit too bright and compete with the poppy, which looks great BTW. If you could tone down that red so it matches the flowers in the top half, I think that would help.

[denise ippolito]

I love the soft pink Poppy and I think that Jerry has identified it correctly. I like the dark green BG w/ bright red spots. I think the contrast of color between the BG and the flower is nice. Another comp. to consider. I had to do it on my laptop and I don't have layer masks on it.:eek: So it's a bit sloppy but you get the idea. I just selected the flower and flipped it and rotated it slightly.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Artie,
Love Denise's flip of the main poppy (cool idea!)....but I will offer another possible suggestion other than crop since I know you are OK with cloning/patching.....just get rid of the lower/brighter reds all together...makes for a nice diagonal then with the BG reds.

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Artie, Love Denise's flip of the main poppy (cool idea!)....but I will offer another possible suggestion other than crop since I know you are OK with cloning/patching.....just get rid of the lower/brighter reds all together...makes for a nice diagonal then with the BG reds.

Not only cool but well done. I sort of like the bright red flowers. I wish that I could have moved back to get the complete flowers in the frame but I was very restricted as far as movement....

Thanks Denise! I love your version.

[Arthur Morris]

Looks sort of like a Chisos Prickly Poppy. I'm certainly no expert but the coloration looks good. Occurs in the Big Bend area of Texas.

Thanks Alan. We were a good way from Big Bend which sort of has it own eco-system...

[Arthur Morris]

Folks who know me would know that I would have framed to the right if I had been able or moved right to better look into the flower. There was a load of ugly white flowers to the right of the poppy and I could not move right at all because of a big post. And again, I love the red flowers in the llc :)

Thanks all for your comments.

[Brandy Katzen]

Love the red flowers in the background. Looks like a painting(which is a huge compliment!).