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Mike Moats
04-17-2010, 07:56 PM
Shot with white foamcore for BG and slightly over exposed for a soft pastel feel.

Fuji S5 Tamron 60mm Macro, F/32 @ 2sec.

Julie Kenward
04-18-2010, 03:37 AM
Mike, this is really lovely! Terrific perspective - love that you shot from the side so all the little details show. Is this Columbine?

Mike Moats
04-18-2010, 05:36 AM
Hey Jules, I bought this potted perennial from the local garden store and the tag said it was a Pagoda. It looks like a Columbine, so I'm thinking it's from the same family.

Cheryl Flory
04-18-2010, 06:06 AM
lovely image. of course. :D

great detail on the seed head. But since the seed stem is so much more opaque and "heavier" looking than the blossom, it feels to me that it should be lower in the image than the blossom. and maybe have their stems look like they originate closer together, to me they looked placed and arranged in this photo rather than naturally growing together on the same plant. But saying all of that, beautiful image! And I love the detail on the seed head. If there were separation between the seed head and the blossom, I think those tiny pink leaves (?) at the base of the seed head would show up better. Hey, maybe you'll get viable seeds too, for your purchase here! :D

How do you get such bright white with the foam board? When I use it, I get gray. Do I need more lights on the background? Or overexpose it more? or what?

Do you have more pics with the flower looking at the camera?

Mike Moats
04-18-2010, 10:47 AM
Hey Cheryl, I shoot with natural light and no extra light on the foamcore, but I did over expose the shot a bit and also lighten it in photoshop as I wanted soft colors with a watercolor painting look. So that helped to lighten up the white of the foamcore. I didn't arrange this image, you will see in the latest image I posted that it was in a group from a potted flower. You'll see this comp on the left side of the group and it was shot from the backside of what you see in the group. Thanks.

Ken Childs
04-19-2010, 07:13 AM
Mike, this looks great! The white BG is perfect for these soft colors. I might be tempted to desat or lighten the greens a tiny bit, just because me eye keeps getting pulled away from the flower to the green in the upper left

Anita Bower
04-19-2010, 07:15 AM
Love it! I like how the petals of the open flower embrace the bud. Gorgeous angle and light. This is, indeed, a Columbine. http://www.gardencrossings.com/plantname/Aquilegia-Pagoda-Rose-and-White

Roman Kurywczak
04-19-2010, 09:59 AM
Hey Mike,
I've been playing around with these myself lately! I like the stem addition also!

Brandy Katzen
04-27-2010, 09:51 AM
"Pagoda" is the name of the cultivar. It's a hybrid Columbine.