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View Full Version : I've always called them Bluebells



Ed Vatza
04-05-2008, 07:00 PM
From today; along a stream in Eastern Pennsylvania.

Image made using my Canon Rebel XT and Sigma 70mm f/2.8 Macro handheld.

1/100 sec at f/6.3; ISO 100; EV 0

Robert O'Toole
04-06-2008, 11:54 AM
Very nice, love all the shapes and the colors.

Although it is leaning to the left a little the lean doesnt take much away from the image.

Robert

Mike Moats
04-08-2008, 06:09 AM
Hey Ed, very nice image, can't help on the ID, nice color combo.

Mary Stamper
04-08-2008, 07:53 AM
Nice capture. It's actually a Grape Hyacinth (Muscari).

Watch the sharpening though. I see some halos, especially around the bottom flower. I'd sharpen this one selectively to eliminate those heavy edges that scream "digital!!!".

Ed Vatza
04-08-2008, 08:25 AM
Robert, Mike, Mary,

Thanks for the critiques. And good catch, Mary. I probably should have held up on the last shot of USM.

You know, I can remember picking these in a nearby field and giving them to my mother some 50 years ago. I remember her calling them bluebells and the name just stuck. :)

Mary Stamper
04-08-2008, 10:12 AM
Ed,

Plant names are tough because the common names are so often confused. There are at least 3 plants that are correctly called Blue Bells (Mertensia Virginica (Virginia Blue Bell), Scilla Hispanica (Spanish Bluebell), and Scilla non-scripta (English Bluebell) and to make matters worse, the last one has at least 3 scientific names, depending upon what the taxonomists are doing this year :)

So we can forgive your mother for calling Muscari (Grape Hyacinths) BlueBells. :)

Regarding sharpening, with this type of shot, I will often remove sharpening from the places where it looks too heavy. Or another strategy would be to put the extra sharpening only where it's needed. Both approaches are easy in Nikon Capture NX, and not too much harder in photoshop. Often the petals can take extra sharpening, while the edges often cannot, especially if there is a lot of contrast against the background.

Ed Vatza
04-08-2008, 10:31 AM
Thanks, Mary.

Next time I go out in search of wildflowers, I'm going to leave the field guide behind and take you along! :)