Poisonous
When the humidty and temperatures provide the right conditions these emerge from the soil overnight and grow as large as dinner plates in a couple of days. Chan...
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When the humidty and temperatures provide the right conditions these emerge from the soil overnight and grow as large as dinner plates in a couple of days. Changing colour from bright red to orange.
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Apr, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
Taken at the start of autumn when I was living on the East Cape of the North Island in New Zealand. A virtual forest of these rose from the ground overnight pushing up through the covering of leaf litter. Recent damp and humid weather provided optimum conditions and I didn't need to find a secluded hollow in the back country to shoot these as they were conveniently located in my back yard.Time
It was late afternoon just before sunset. These had a very fast rate of growth and had dynamic changes in their shape from the morning with variations in colour from red to very bright orange as they expanded. This angle provide a view of their stages of development with the foreground subject forming a different shape to the background subjects that had risen earlier.Lighting
It was quite an overcast afternoon and the trees overhead provided another filtered layer to the natural light.Equipment
Standard Canon EOS 500D, in Manual Mode. No flash and the ground level view made using a tripod impractical. Hand held was not reliable due the longer exposure time required. The ground was quite sodden too and I did not want my camera to come in contact with any dirt and moisture. I found a short, thick piece of decking timber that provided the perfect level surface low enough.Inspiration
The red colour appeared very vibrant and the contrasting colours were aesthetically pleasing to me. Plus, I knew this scene would be very temporary and these would quickly deteriorate over the next 48 hours once the had reached their peak bloom. This section of the ground was only a portion of how many actually grew across the yard.Editing
I always aim for the minimum in post processing correction improvements ! The RAW image required very little post processing. The light was filtered and shadows were even. I increased exposure, contrast and sharpness very slightly.In my camera bag
I'm fortunate enough to have a choice between a crop-sensor and full frame (i.e 500D or 6D Canons). Have only a narrow choice of lenses at present with a couple of short Zooms, a 300mm and a 50mm Prime. I like the prime purely because it prevents me from becoming lazy and requires me to think about composure and move around. Always have my tripod with me ............. always !Feedback
With "ground level" views limiting tripod use I found the best advice I've ever received was to use a small "bean bag" type of cushion to rest the camera on. It keeps the camera off the ground and can be "leveled" if resting it on uneven ground. Using the short 2 sec countdown timer helps avoid any slight camera shake once you release the shutter but using a remote shutter is even better. I'll tend to use the "mirror lockup" feature on my 6D to further eliminate any potential shake in the sensor too.
