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Grace Scalzo
05-24-2010, 09:23 AM
I'm not terribly comfortable in the macro world but here's one from yesterday of an iris in our backyard. I was experimenting with very shallow dof and selective focus. Thanks for looking and for any comments you can offer!

Canon 5dmk2, tripod mounted, Sigma 150

1/400, ISO200, f 2.8 Flash ettl-1 manual focus

Cheryl Flory
05-24-2010, 06:56 PM
I like how you have all the color in the bottom third of the image to give it some weight (yea, another thing from Mike Moats' book :) ) You have very sharp details on that petal edge, nice job on that! I also like the oof purple behind that edge to set it apart from the bg.

Do you have any more images of this iris? Any close-ups of the "beard" part?

Mike Moats
05-24-2010, 07:44 PM
Hey Grace, very nice abstract feel, good point of focus and nice DOF. Good point by Cheryl about the visual weight.

Julie Kenward
05-25-2010, 07:41 AM
Nice composition, Grace! I also like how the weight of the image is in the lower 1/3. Have you tried bringing up the whites of the iris petal and the BG just a bit more? You might try a screen layer and then reduce the opacity to see if that gives it a lighter, airier feel.

Anita Bower
05-25-2010, 12:32 PM
Macros take time to learn, but the learning is fun because of the beauty we discover as we look through the viewfinder. I would lighten the darker areas a bit using curves, and brighten it up as Jules suggested by duplicating the background layer and changing the blending mode to soft light, then lowering the opacity some. I would also crop some off the top and left side, but others seem to have other opinions of the crop.

Fabs Forns
05-25-2010, 05:39 PM
I love the softness of this, Graze, very pretty. As for the comp, I am left wanting to see more of the purple lip, although I'm aware that moving the camera down would have upset the ROT composition.