Fringed Gentian

[Ron Sprunger]

My daughter-in-law found a patch of these in a meadow in Yellowston three weeks ago. She got out the macro, but I had the big lens on for eagles, so I put it on the monopod and snapped a few.

Nikon D7000, 200-400 f/4, 1.7 TC, monopod
f/8, 1/500, ISO 280, aperture priority -1 ev, distance 2.8m. Not much post, except a bit of contrast and some final sharpening.
C&C welcome and appreciated

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[Ron Sprunger]

And wondering whether this slight crop and shadow relief makes a better picture...

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[denise ippolito]

Ron, I think you did a nice job with the sharpness. I prefer the OP but that is a personal preference and many like their images tight esp. in macro. I think that the OOF flower bloom on the right edge is a little distracting, maybe if it were not at the same level as the main bloom. I might try to blend the dark (older bloom? ) on the left. There is a halo around the one purple petal on the right in the repost probably from lightening it. Great find, I always like to see things captured naturally and I think you did a fine job here.

[Ron Sprunger]

Dang! I hadn't noticed the halo creeping in with the shodows/highlights. Should have masked it off. I think I prefer the OP too, but thought others might find it a bit much at the top. 3:4 crops I tried didn't work at all. Wish now I had thought to tie the background flowers out of the frame for a shot or two. I was assuming the OOF color spots would enhance the image, but I think you're right about them being a distraction.

Appreciate you taking the time to comment.

[Anita Bower]

Fringed Gentians are a treat! I haven't seen any in many years. Lucky you. Gorgeous blues, nice angle to the flower, nice lines in the bg. I would suggest clonning out or brushing over the brownish blur to lower left of the flower, which I think is the biggest distraction. The oof flowers are slightly distracting, but not as much. You could clone them or make them less noticeable if you like. Thanks for sharing.

[Ron Sprunger]

Thanks Anita, I value your input. I may have a shot tonight at removing the brown (dead flower) and toning down the BG flowers. A little selective desaturation ought to help with the latter.

[Ken Childs]

Hey Ron, between Denise and Anita, most of what I would have said has already been covered. I would have added the part about tying the BG flowers out of the way but you already self critiqued that part. :S3:
The comp looks great and like Denise, I prefer the OP. This still is nice but if you'd been able to shoot it without those BG flowers, it would have looked fantastic.

[Nancy Bell]

Ron, others have covered the bits of distraction in the image but I want to add that I love the angle of the Fringed Genetian. I have moved my macro lens all around these flowers trying to capture their uniqueness and you did a great job. I didn't think of using a larger lens.

[Ron Sprunger]

Nancy, that's a problem I always have working with a macro around a tubular flower. I just started using the bigger lens for flowers this summer, and now I mostly loan my macro to my daughter-in-law. But I'm just learning the standards and tricks for producing really presentable images, so the attention and suggestions you and the others give so freely are truly helpful. Now if I can just apply what I'm learning when I'm in the field...

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ron. Beautiful blues, excellent sharpness within your DOF, and I think I also prefer the OP. You have some excellent comments/suggestions above that have covered all of my thoughts so I won't repeat. Nice job using the "non-macro" lens. :S3: