Pink lotus3
Jun, 2015Views
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Awards
Zenith Award
Fall Award 2020
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Paradise Water Gardens in Whitman, Massachusetts. I love photography since I was young. So, after retiring early from my stressful high-tech job, I was able to spend more time on this lifelong hobby. However, I am a self-taught photographer, so I am still learning every time I pick up my camera!Time
I remember waking up very early that day to do some photo shoots of the pink lotus flowers. My photographer friend and I had decided to meet up very early in the morning to drive up to the Lotus Pond owned by a nursery called “Paradise Water Gardens” – which is over an hour away from us. This is one was taken between 9:30am and 11:30am on July 30th, 2014.Lighting
This is just pure natural sunlight. It’s not an ideal time to take pictures between 9:30am and 11:30am. The sun was really bright on this July morning. It was really hard to take a good photo after 10am. I was trying my best to find an angle where the sunlight does not shine on the lotus flower while there are no other objects casting a shadow on it. This was the best result I obtained on this final shot while maintaining a decent composition with the lotus leaves in the background.Equipment
In 2014, I was using a Canon 60D, and a Canon 300mm lens. No tripod, nor flash. This photo was taken with: Aperture f/5.6?ISO 100?Shutter 1/1600?Focal Length 300/.Inspiration
Since I live on the East coast (in Massachusetts), it’s extremely hard to find pink lotus flowers in a natural pond – where the white ones and the yellow ones grow abundantly. So, when my friend and I heard about this man-made pond at the Paradise Water Gardens in the town of Whitman, we immediately decided to drive there to take a look, hoping to do some photo shoots of these rare lotus flowers. Not only we found the pink lotus, we also found different species of the purple, yellow and pink ones. We were elated! In Chinese culture, Lotus symbolizes perfection and purity of both the heart and mind since the flower rises from the mud and blooms in exquisite beauty. Lotus flowers are depicted in Chinese art, poetry and architecture. A barely opened lotus flower symbolizes in Chinese culture a young maiden who is shy, pure and innocent. And that’s what I was trying to capture in this shot.Editing
No, no post-processing on this particular photo.In my camera bag
I now own a Canon 5DSR for the past few years. I always carry with me my Canon Macro 100mm, and my zoom lens EF 100-400 IS II USM (along with the Canon Extender EF1.4 X III). I love my zoom lens to take close-up of the flowers especially when they are way far in the center of the ponds.Feedback
Try to capture your lotus flowers really early in the morning for better lighting. That’s also when the flowers open. They close down in the afternoon. Since they live in a pond, the best thing is to use a zoom lens to do the close-up shots. It's always better to use a tripod to avoid camera shake, especially in low light condition.
