You Big Pansy

[Julie Kenward]

:D:D:D

Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro, 12mm extension tube
f5 @ 1/60th, ISO 200
Manual mode, Sunny WB, handheld
Fill flash to lighten the center of the pansy against the backlit whiter areas
Processed in ACR & CS4

[Bruce Murden]

Looks like a little pansy to me. I like the comp, and I'm a fan of the narrow DOF on the bloom only, with a bit of leaves nearly in focus, and the BG leaves OOF. Just enough interest in both groups of leaves, while the rest of the BG is a nice even green, complementing the flower.

In this JPG on my screen, though, the yellow is a tad hot compared to the purple and even the white. It may have been a problem with the (harsh?) backlighting, and not enough fill. Did you try working this subject in shade, with a diffuser blocking the direct sun?

I haven't noticed on your other posts yet -- are you using extension tubes much? Haven't tried them myself, but I see you can get really close to this "Johnny Jump Up".

[Julie Kenward]

Bruce, I purposely put the plant where it would get backlighting - I really wanted to see the sun coming through the petals so I would get the mix of lighter and darker areas within the bloom. Normally, yes, I'd set it off to the shady area but I really wanted to play with the backlighting in this case.

I have had a set of extension tubes for about 3 weeks now and have had varying success with them. I think I'm still getting used to what they can do but I am having fun seeing how much further it will allow me to get into the macro world. My tubes are Kenko and are 12mm, 20mm & 32mm and I find I use the 20 or 12/20 combo the most.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Jules, good looking flower and the backlighting works well. Nice sharp details and good BG.

[denise ippolito]

Julie, I like the backlighting and think your pansy has nice details.

[Joseph Martines]

Love it.

Love the back lighting and I love the sharp details of the pansy.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Lovely flower Julie.

I only wish the white petal would not be so light.

A great image any ways.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jules,
Very nice idea and I like the OOF BG and leaves. My only recommendation is to play with the highlight slider and bring a bit more detail into the whites. Easy fix.
Nice job on exploring the possibilities.

[Ed Vatza]

Hi Jules,

The Big Pansy looks pretty good to me. The background is great. (Is it real or is it Memorex? ;)) The leaves at the bottom seem fine. Two things that I wish were a little different are the one leaf that looks blackened along the edges and the shadowing on the petal on the right. It doesn't appear to be backlight blockage from the petal behind. The shape doesn't seem right. I don't know if more fill would help that or not. Just my two cents.