Water lily at Chattanooga Choo choo...
Water lily at Chattanooga Choo choo...
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Awards
Chatter Award
People's Choice in A very special plant or flower Photo Challenge
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Top Shot Award 21
Winner in Lotus Flowers Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Single Flower Photo Challenge
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Contest Finalist in Bright Flowers Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
This water lily was at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in Chattanooga. Some of the station tracks have been converted to lily ponds. The Glen Miller gardens are fantastic, and some of the railroad cars have been refurbished into the coolest "rooms". We stayed there about 40 years ago, when it wad the Choo Choo Hilton, and it continues to be a unique place to stay and show to out of town visitors.Time
This was captured July 5, 2013 at about 1:15 pm. We had just finished lunch and were leisurely strolling around the area.Lighting
Lighting is natural, and in a shaded area. I prefer the drama of a black background, and to achieve that, I most often use spot metering for exposure. I believe that, as well as the saturated colors, is what sets this image apart.Equipment
My camera at the time, was the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ150. It is an all-in-one mega zoom that easily (well not THAT easily!) fit inside my handbag. That little camera is a work-horse and performs beautifully! It covers a multitude of shooting situations and is very lightweight. The "Creative Mode" was set to "Expressive", which intensifies the color.Inspiration
I am always on the lookout for color and form. This caught my eye and I was mesmerized...Editing
Yes. I used to think that post-processing was somehow "cheating" but the more I became immersed in photography, the more I think of editing as just the beginning of the artistic process. From what I can recall, since this was taken 3 years ago, I most likely darkened the shadows (even with spot metering as mentioned before.) This alone seems to intensify the colors a bit more. From there, I cleaned up the dark black background by cloning. My favorite editing program is PicMonkey -- probably the most user-friendly program out there.In my camera bag
I have recently upgraded to the Panasonic Lumix GX8, mft format camera. Lenses: Panasonic 35-100 lens and the Panasonic Leica 100-400 lens. I felt I was ready to grow both technically and artistically and I took a giant leap. I love it! But even so, the DMC FZ150 will always have a spot near and dear to my heart, and in my handbag! Tripod? Sadly, I am tripod-phobic. I have one... just don't like to use it. Camera bag? I have 3 different sizes of Tenba Camera Inserts, depending on how much equipment I want to carry. They offer me the versatility of not being that "obvious" and they fit in anything from backpacks to handbags. As a woman photographer, that really means a lot!Feedback
Be aware of your surroundings and try to think outside the box when it comes to point of view. Experiment with spot metering and if your camera has different "artistic" or "creative" modes, experiment and see how different the same scene looks using different filters. Never stop learning! Experiment with post-processing ... be creative! Sometimes, a less than perfect photograph can be transformed magically by applying textures, or selective dodging and burning. You are the artist! Thank you again, ViewBug for your award and honoring my photograph.