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Thread: Trout Lily in High Key

  1. #1
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    Default Trout Lily in High Key

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    Not to be foiled by breezes and completely clear skies this time, I managed to photograph some yellow trout lilies (Erythronium americum). I did the best I could with the breezes, shooting more open than I would have liked, or faster ISO which is grainy on my camera, or both.

    Then I got this idea: use my small diffuser (it's 12" / 30cm or so across when open), which was all I brought, and use it as a shield and a white backdrop. Shadows from trees fell on the diffuser, making it mottled, so I converted the BG to pure white in PS, after some of the basic contrast & levels adjustments in LR.

    Nikon D80, Nikkor 105 macro, ISO 200, 1/60 @ f/11.


    In addition to the normal image C&C, I'd like your thoughts on the framing here, since I needed to do a double stroke in order to separate the white image from the black background in a more appealing manner.

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    Bruce, The composition with the high-key BG really looks terrific!

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    Lifetime Member Thomas Herou's Avatar
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    Awesom effect with the yellow and white!
    Thomas Herou

  4. #4
    Mike Moats
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    Hey Bruce, great looking subject, good focus and high key works well here.

  5. #5
    Julie Kenward
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    I really like what you did with the lily but the black frame feels harsh to me. I used the eyedropper to get the brown from the stamen and then used the paint bucket to convert the frame color. To me, it blends with the flower just a bit better. Thought it was worth a look...

  6. #6
    Roman Kurywczak
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    Hey Buce,
    Now how did you get that low??? I didn't think I'd like the high key here but I think it works very well. Got to get you to play with some fill flash.....definitely helps in windy situations. Really nice placement and very nice specimen....very well done!

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    Thanks all! Roman - my bogen/manfrotto tripod legs can be perfectly flat -- or actually point up a bit, so the central section that holds the ballhead is on the ground (I don't use the long center post). Some days, I bring a POD beanbag, but not this time. Oh, and I give anyone who passes a chuckle as I lie down on the ground in various positions. It also helped that I found some lilies that were up a tiny hill to let me get a few inches lower.

    I have been experimenting with fill-flash (the red trillium from a week or so ago), but didn't bring the setup on this trip (for me, an SB-800 and PocketWizards), and I don't like fill-flash with my on-camera - can't seem to get good results no matter how much I dial down the flash.

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