It's good to be back online again! I missed you all so much! ;)
Here's an image from this past weekend - the crab apple trees are all about to burst here in KC. This one has the sweet morning light and the spring green grass in the BG. I think I'll probably go back and tone down that bright green leaf at the bottom of the frame but couldn't decide on it until now.
Canon 40D, EF 100mm f/2.8 macro
f4.5 @ 1/125th, ISO 200
Manual mode, pattern metering, handheld, natural daylight
Hi Jules. Love the color, composition and lighting. I agree with you on toning down the bright area at the bottom. I'm wondering how it would look with a slight boost in contrast.:confused:
I've been wondering how to shoot some of the spring blooming trees! very nice. I like this composition, almost like an explosion.. I also like the oof pink buds in the background.
Cheryl, I either go straight in on a single branch (like I did here) or I look for an area where there is one large group of blooms with unblossomed buds around it and shoot them that way. Sometimes I use the other flowering branches as my BG and other times I try to get the grass or sky to be the BG. If you use the branches for a BG make sure you go with a shallow DOF (for a 100mm macro lens that would be 5.6 or wider) or you'll end up losing the blossoms in the BG.
Those 2 OOF buds in the lower left are bothering me for some reason. If you have a little more canvas maybe try a slight CCW rotation and crop so those 2 and most of the bright green leaf are gone.
I love the selective focus, Jules - the colors are bright and pleasing. The temperature of this image is on the cool side - wonder if you 'warmed' up the greens - would that make the greens seem less bright? Although it's fine the way it is.
Hey Jules,
I don't think f32 would work here but I do feel you may have needed to prune some of the blooms (if it was yours) along the edges...another vote for toning down. Definitely not the easiest subject!
Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I will tone down the bright area but the other buds are probably staying - I really like the 3D look of the image; it's pretty much exactly what I visualized it to be. Barbara, I will look at warming up the greens a bit - was keeping it on the yellow side to help emphasize spring sunshine but I will take another look at it. Thanks!
It could be the monitors, Jules - the greens don't seem that 'yellow' as compared to what I shoot. I use cloudy WB most of the time, unless I want a cool image. Go with what seems right to you.
Love the colors and composition here. I wouldn't change anything except that one green leaf you mentioned. I can't image how you managed to position yourself to get this particular angle.