Revisited one of favorite local haunts (Eastern Pennsylvania) after about a two week absence. Much to my delight, I found a whole new crop of wildflowers blooming. This particular Moth Mullein attracted my attention because just one flower was blooming on the stem and it was being backlit by the sun just starting to break over the horizon.
Image made using my Canon Rebel XT, Sigma 150mm Macro lens, Canon 430 EX Flash with LumiQuest Soft Box, tripod-mounted.
Ed, Ed, Ed! This is a wonderfully composed and well thought out image. What I really love about it is that it shows others that front lighting is NOT the only way to go. Your attention to detail and your DOF are right there. You didn't just TAKE this image - you MADE this image. :D
The only criticism I could come up with is the little stem on the top left bud above the flower...for some reason that one bothers me whereas the other two are in focus and seem to add a sense of whimsy. Totally your call but I'd lose it because of it's blurriness. I also wouldn't mind seeing just a tad more detail on the center of the flower around the stamen area. Maybe a little light burning?
Lovely subject and treatment, and really good dynamics with your angled composition. The only minor nits to pick are the "stems" (pistils to be?) sticking out of the lower right and upper left buds leave the canvas, and the top of the stalk bulging toward the left takes the eye out of the frame. You may also consider dodging the center of the bud to brighten it up a bit.
Congratulations Ed...
This is excellent...I like the outline of the water beads around the plant. Exposure is dead on, composition is balanced and the exposure is great with sharp details...the dark background makes your flower stand out.
Lets just call this simple and delicate...:) good show, keep them coming...:cool:
Hi Ed,
You went Vert! Agree with others on the clipped stamens........You sure did nail the lighting Really does show off the delicate parts of the flower. Would be interesting to see one with the center lightened a hair. Way to expand horizons!
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions for improving on this image. I really liked the backlighting a lot and am very pleased with the image as a whole. But I will be keeping your suggestions in mind as I venture out again. Actually as I kept Roman's and Mike's suggestions that I think a bit more vertical and consider putting the subject on a diagonal in ind when I went out yesterday.
Roman, I made around 250 images yesterday and around 230 of them were verts! :D So I have a few more to post but I may do a horizontal from this morning first. We'll see.
Hey Ed, I like that you've added some more interest into your images with the stem and buds. I like the nice backlighting, and agree on the clip of the bud tip on the right side.
Moth Mullein (Backlit)
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