Early Marsh Orchid

[Thomas Herou]

Pentax K10D,Voigtländer Apo-Lanthar 125/2,5
1/160s,f/5,6,ISO 200

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Thomas,
I've studied this one for a while now.....originally I was going to comment on the circular balls in the BG as distracting......the more I find that not to be the case! I think they actually add to the overall dreamy feel and look of this image. I really like this one.....outstanding work!

[Thomas Herou]

Thanks,Roman.
In some of my photos at this occasion,the balls in the BG were too distracting
but here I think they fades into the BG nicely.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I think this is lovely Thomas... The way the BG and FG are blurred. I think the circles add to the image and I love the feel.

[Thomas Herou]

Thanks,Julie!

[Fabs Forns]

Very artistic presentation, the OOF areas add a lot and great color combination. Excellent done, Thomas.

[Julie Kenward]

Thomas, can you share a little of how you achieve this soft, dreamy look? Do you overexpose in the field or in pp? What time of day was the image taken to get such beautiful light? Any additional comments for how you create these lovely images would be a big help to everyone!

[Paul Lagasi]

Thomas very nicely done, the out of focus areas bracket the flowers really well..lovely orchids

[Thomas Herou]

Thanks!
The way I take most of my flowershots is as follows:
I look for the best angle for the motive and light.I try to find some vegetation for the FG and make a gap to the motive.Usually in sunny conditions I use a white umbrella to shade the flower but not the BG.That makes the surroundings to appear lighter than the motive.
Then I curve up the flower in the pp.Thats it!No filters,it's the same way I shot in the analog days.

[Anita Bower]

A beautiful image! I love the softness, colors, composition and light. Thank you for describing your approach. (I came across this image in Image of the Week. Don't know how I missed it when first posted.)