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Post by Kit on Nov 16, 2011 4:20:57 GMT
I have been having fun and frustration lately, shooting arum lilies, which are flowering all over the show. I have this little area that I can shoot in at the moment, just next to the bus. It is a covered in door entrance and the sides and roof are that opaque corrugated plastic, so the light coming through is lovely and soft. This morning, I shot some in the bus, as the weather outside was really rough and that was an exercise in complete frustration as the bus and therefore the lilies, were rockin' around like mad things. But I did manage to get this one.  Nikon D80, Tamron 28-75. Exposure 0.25 sec (1/4) Aperture f/16.0 Focal Length 75 mm It was shot tripod mounted against the light, which was showing up the beautiful undulations of the bottom of the single petal that these lilies are made of. I had a couple of bits of printer paper stuck up behind it as a background. C&C appreciated. You can be as harsh as you like! |
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Post by jeeperman on Nov 16, 2011 4:31:22 GMT
Kit, let me be the first to say....it is fantastic! I love the soft quality. Not to say it is not sharp because it is. I love the smoothness of tone changes, fantastic light. Very well done.
My only issue is the background. It seems to be overpoweringly bright.
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Post by chrisc on Nov 16, 2011 4:54:39 GMT
And I like the brightness in this case...I like the way it allows the softness a hard edge.
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Post by The Wirefox on Nov 16, 2011 7:00:57 GMT
Firstly I would recommend that anyone viewing uses the lightbox. It looks even better on black. I love it Kit. Sensuous and beautiful lines. I like the white background. White can be as effective as black if the lighting is right and it certainly is here. You have avoided blowing out any of the subject and you have also maintained the outline (difficult with white on white). I would be very pleased with myself if I had shot this.
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Post by DonS on Nov 16, 2011 7:03:09 GMT
Kit, for this kind of picture you don't need any C&C anymore... Fantastic!!!!! ;D
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janis
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Post by janis on Nov 16, 2011 8:59:32 GMT
Beautifully lit, Kit. It's one to study and learn from, for sure. The contours of the underside of the petal are just lovely.
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Post by Kit on Nov 17, 2011 8:18:09 GMT
Wow. I'm a bit gobsmacked, but many thanks for all your positive comments. This was shot against the light as the printer paper was up against a window. You have all made my day!  |
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Post by jiro on Nov 17, 2011 11:29:50 GMT
Soft and lovely. Wonderfully seen and shot, Kit. I like it. |
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Post by katynoelle on Nov 17, 2011 14:33:58 GMT
Oh, I'm so glad that I didn't miss this, Kit! (It's been a wonky couple of weeks!) It's really beautiful - the lines in the petals, the light, not a perfect specimen but not decayed, either. Quite unique. Congratulations! I have two, well, questions, really. What about having the flower more to the left of the frame with some more space on the right of the composition? Just wondering - there's something - I don't know if it's necessarily wrong but - there's something about the dark part at the base of the flower that I want to be a little more 'out of the way'. That thought might just possibly be rubbish, though. Then, just below the arch of the flower - on the whit background - there are some white smudges. What are those? I'm asking because, in a pic of bare apple tree branches in the snow - I had a nightmare of a time cleaning those very same kind of smudges up off of the very white of the snow and the sky. Anyway, I do love this! |
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Post by Kit on Dec 1, 2011 4:25:08 GMT
I have two, well, questions, really. What about having the flower more to the left of the frame with some more space on the right of the composition? Just wondering - there's something - I don't know if it's necessarily wrong but - there's something about the dark part at the base of the flower that I want to be a little more 'out of the way'. That thought might just possibly be rubbish, though. Katy - thanks for this comment. I too, thought it needed a bit more to the right, but when I tried this, it looked to pano-like. So biffed it. Then, just below the arch of the flower - on the whit background - there are some white smudges. What are those? I'm asking because, in a pic of bare apple tree branches in the snow - I had a nightmare of a time cleaning those very same kind of smudges up off of the very white of the snow and the sky. Anyway, I do love this! OK - I can't see any white smudges, even if I tilt my laptop screen up, bit it may just be the (my) monitor. Could I get you to go to the image in flickr and make a wee note around the area in question? Pretty puh-lease? Sorry it took me so long to get back - have not been ignoring you but the Engineer & I have been working hard out and noooo tiime for interwebs at all.  |
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Post by Kit on Dec 1, 2011 4:26:56 GMT
And as to "What are those smudgy bits?" in Katy's post, these were shot against two bits of printer paper and in the original, you can see the paper and the crease between the two, so may have just not cloned so brilliantly after all.  |
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Post by Barry on Dec 5, 2011 22:50:02 GMT
I must had missed this thread, I like this very much as you have captured this almost white lily against a white background, just using the shadow area to make it stand out.
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Post by katynoelle on Dec 6, 2011 1:50:43 GMT
Why in the world did I say white smudges - anybody know? bleh! I meant blueish dark - vague smudges that are on the white background below the arch of the flower. here is the image that I had a tremendous time with them. There were these faint blueish smudges. I spent forever - FOREVER - trying to PS them out. Then, I realized after I'd added the border that I'd missed the upper right corner. It's, also, still there just above the snow and below the branch on the right hand side. I would just love to know what it was/is!  |
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Post by janis on Dec 6, 2011 20:56:02 GMT
I'm not sure I see what you are referring to, Katy, but I do like that image. Don't think I have seen it before.
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Post by robmarshall on Dec 6, 2011 21:42:19 GMT
This morning, I shot some in the bus, as the weather outside was really rough and that was an exercise in complete frustration as the bus and therefore the lilies, were rockin' around like mad things. But I did manage to get this one. If you must shoot this while driving down the highway at 70mph, I'd suggest you switch on image stability on your lens.  I think you are on the right track here. getting the light behind on something translucent definitely helps to bring out the detail. I did a similar thing with this flower shot some time ago. I just up-ended the flash head/diffuser, placed the flower on top, and used a second light above. I then rotated the shot 180 deg. Here was the setup.  What, me? Kind to old (and young) ladies. Guardian of the nations sheep. Harsh? never. |
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