Badgrandad

Lilac Garden flower

SAMSUNG GX10

settings

Aperture f/4 ISO 160 Shutter 1/500 Focal Length 7000/100

upload_date

Jan, 2016

Views

5333

Likes

+1.2k

Awards

Hero Award

Contest Finalist in Depth In Nature Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Spring Photo Contest 2017

Member Selection Award

Contest Finalist in Water Drops On Flowers Photo Contest

Contest Finalist in Just Flowers Photo Contest

Peer Award

+271

Superb Composition

+114

Top Choice

+76

Absolute Masterpiece

+65

Love it

+33

Outstanding Creativity

+15

Magnificent Capture

+11

Superior Skill

All Star

Virtuoso

Genius

Emotions

Impressed

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Categories

PRO+

Stunning shot.

PRO+

fabulous detail and colour.

Platinum

Rod, congratulations! Finalist in the Flowers contest

PRO+

gorgeous capture...congrats on your Finalist Award

Stunning, love the vibrant colors!

GORGEOUS! Simple Elegance!

Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!

Sorry Badgrandad.....I meant to give you a better than a peer award but moved the mouse too quick :-) .....Absolutely love this...the colours, Dof and composition are a pure delight!! Ps: Love the name too lol

like it!

PRO

Congratulations on your Finalist Win in 'Water Drops on Flowers'

PRO+

yay...another Finalist Award....congrats!

Awesome selection in 'Water Drops on Flowers!'

Platinum

Congratulations! Finalist in Water Drops contest!

Ultimate

Terrific, the purple and yellow compliment each other !

So Beautiful!

PRO+

congrats on your Finalist Award...

Beautiful shot! Congradulations!

PRO+

Beautiful. Love the colours in this one. Flowers are a favouite subject of mine. They sit still. LOL

Beautiful, Just inspires me to go back into my garden and photography flora

Hi Bethany, many thanks for your very kind comment. I noticed a strong Liverpool theme in your portfolio, if you live locally I am sure you could find a photo club to join which is a good way to find help and improve your photography, worked for me. Cheers, Rod

Love this picture ... so detailed yet so simple. thanks for all the likes/awards

PRO+

Love it! Those Colours, depth and focus!

Superb!

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Behind The Lens

Location

The photo's i.e. the image is a stack, were taken in our rear garden.

Time

It was early morning in the at about 08.30 in July after a clear night which gave some very nice dew drops on the flora in the garden. Being early in the morning it was also very calm on this occasion, which allowed to take several images for stacking. Often in the morning before the sun has had a chance to really get going, it is often calmer.

Lighting

The lighting was natural and early in the morning so the sun was low in the sky and from the side, perfect lighting really as there was no direct harsh light but, light enough to illuminate and cast some subtle shadows to give depth and form.

Equipment

I used my manfrotto tripod, 0555XPROB and manfrotto head 468MGRC2, cable release and my trusty sigma 70mm f2.8 macro lens at f4.0 and ISO 160 to give a shutter speed of 1/500 sec, and focussed manually.

Inspiration

It was a still morning, good light and dew on the garden. At this time of year the flowers were in full bloom and the wonderful contrast of this lilac perennial wallflower against the vibrant yellows in the background with dew and wonderful lighting was too good to resist, especially as the air was still, perfect conditions.

Editing

This was a stack of several images. I started in LR vs. 5 and performed lens correction and then basic exposure tweaking to suit in the develop module, next select all the images whilst pressing control to use in the stack and then sync the settings from the processed image to all the other images. Next the stack was processed in Zerene Stacker and saved as an output file, which LR automatically stacks with the original images (if not right click on folder and select synchronise). I then exported to PS and used the Nik software plugins in the order of Define, raw pre-sharpener (brush mode) and Colour Effects pro, where I usually use Tonal contrast, pro contrast and darken/lighten centre (subtly). return to Ps and remove any blemishes and I usually sharpen with High pass sharpening by pressing control J to create duplicate layer, next control/shift U to covert to mono, apply appropriate amount of radius (usually 1.5 to 3.0) and chose between overlay or soft for the blending mode to suit. Then save as, to ensure you are making a copy and not affecting the original, as a matter of habit.

In my camera bag

My camera then was the Samsung GX10 and I was and still am, using the sigma 70mm macro lens. I mostly photographed either handheld or with a monopod the Gitzo GM2561T which is their lightest weight monopod. perhaps when I can afford it I will upgrade the monopod as it is a very useful bit of equipment and the sturdier the better. I do not use flash at all, so in challenging lighting conditions, technique is everything. Another bit of equipment I like is an eyecup, the type you can press your face into, this has 2 benefits, 1) it prevents extraneous light from entering the viewer and 2) it helps to absorb vibration perhaps 0.5 of a stop worth when pressed to your face. I also had the tripod and head mentioned above. my other go to,lenses at the time were my sigma 18-50mm EX DG macro and sigma 12-24 wide angle lenses.

Feedback

Get up early to check out your garden and weather conditions, if you have to travel check the weather the night before to try and avoid disappointment also use The Photographers Ephemeris to check the position and inclination of the sun and moon at any time of year for any place worldwide, a wonderful bit of software. early mornings tend to be still and if clear give good light for these types of image which is also low in the sky so not harsh or direct and if possible try to have the sun at right angles to reveal form in your subject, which is also good if you wish to use a polariser. For stacking you can use a wider f-stop e.g. f4, to give sharp shots and nicely diffused backgrounds. Use a remote release cable to avoid creating vibrations and use mirror lock up for the same reason. Another bonus of using a wide f-stop is that you increase the shutter speed, which helps to alleviate any movement or vibration that might occur.

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Badgrandad

Badgrandad

Lilac Garden flower

Behind The Lens

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