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.
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...
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!
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.