Stamens, Shadows and Sweat

[Ed Vatza]

Evening Primrose, I believe. Image made this morning at 07:20:47.

Canon 30D; Sigma 150mm Macro lens; Canon 430 EX Flash w/ LumiQuest Softbox on flexible bracket; all tripod-mounted.

1/40 sec @ f/16; ISO 200; -1/3 EV; Sunny WB; FEC -1

[Milan V]

Nice compo and colour combination with bg.

[Ed Cordes]

Ed, this is wonderful. The deep colors and the water droplets on the petals along with the dark BG is striking. At first I thought I didn't like the stamen shadows. However, the more I look at the image the more I thnk the shadows allow some preceptual separation of the stamens from the petals.

[Dave Leroy]

Nice use of flash. Flower is nicely separated from bg and really stands out. I also like the diagonal comp. Very nice. Dave

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Ed,
Very nice presentation of a tough flower because the stamen are very close in color tone.. I like the diagonal comp too and feel that the shadows do add a sense of depth and seperation. Water droplets a nice touch

[Arthur Morris]

Ditto all of the positives; I love it. Where do you folks stand on bringing the stalk into the frame exactly from the corner? (That would be my preference if possible.)

Was the BKGR simply something shaded? SH and d-o-f perfect. EXP too.

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks Milan, Dave, Ed, Roman and Artie. I appreciate the comments and feedback from all of you.

Where do you folks stand on bringing the stalk into the frame exactly from the corner? (That would be my preference if possible.)

All I can say Artie is that when I would bring the stem in from exactly the corner, it would result in negative criticisms on this board about doing so. Somewhere last year I had it beaten into my head to offset the entry into the frame and that's what I've been doing ever since. I'm not sure I was ever given a specific reason.

Was the BKGR simply something shaded? SH and d-o-f perfect. EXP too.

I have found that I like shooting against a solid water background when I can. In this case the background was a stream running behind the flower. The combination of the distance between the flower and the water, the light and the flash turns it a dark brown to black and makes an excellent background. I've been using this approach a lot. Like I'm telling you something you don't know. ;):)

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Ed,

re:

All I can say Artie is that when I would bring the stem in from exactly the corner, it would result in negative criticisms on this board about doing so. Somewhere last year I had it beaten into my head to offset the entry into the frame and that's what I've been doing ever since. I'm not sure I was ever given a specific reason.

Here is some advice: do it your way. If they do not like it, disagree. Let them know that you prefer your way and let them know why. I was taught that having diagonals enter the frame from a corner is the way to go and I do believe that the resulting compostions are much stronger. I have been questioning the teachers ever since 4th grade and do not intend to quit now!

I have found that I like shooting against a solid water background when I can. In this case the background was a stream running behind the flower. The combination of the distance between the flower and the water, the light and the flash turns it a dark brown to black and makes an excellent background. I've been using this approach a lot. Like I'm telling you something you don't know. ;):)

Yes, :). Was the BKGR water shaded?

[Ed Vatza]

Was the BKGR water shaded?

Yes it was.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Ed; that's what I thought. The dark BKGR is the key to the success of the image but makes getting the right EXP a bit tougher. Good job all around.

[Bob Allen]

A lovely image, with great DOF. The shadows add depth. The fact that you included the sepals shows that you know what you're doing. Backward-pointing sepals are a trademark of the evening primrose family of plants (though too many stamens, perhaps). I thought Ludwigia sp. but now am not sure.

Glad you did this your way. I don't recall anyone telling people not to stick the stem in the corner, but maybe I missed that discussion. Put the stem where you want in the comp. I intentionally vary its position to keep my images a bit unpredictable.

Wow, you put a great deal of thought and work into this image: BG, diffused flash, WB, comp, focus, perfect water drops. It's almost like you planned this image ;7)

[Anita Bower]

Ed: Great image! I agree with all the comments above. You thought it out and accomplished what you set out to do. Fantastic! The dark BG caused by the stream works really well. I especially love the dew drops. You did a fantastic job with them. I usually avoid early morning macros because the dew drops defeat me. Beautiful all around.