Water Lilly
Oct, 2015Views
1691
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Awards
People's Choice in Close up of a Waterlily Photo Challenge
Action Award
Chatter Award
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Virtuoso
Superior Skill
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I live on a sloping allotment on the Gold Coast Australia and many years ago I worked really hard and constructed a trickling stream/small waterfall with a large pond at the bottom. I planted some native waterlilies and this is a photo of one of them.Time
From what I remember it was around 11am or 12 midday with the sun high the sky, not the best time for taking photos but I didn't want any shadows or limited shadows on the flower.Lighting
Even though the sun was overhead the background which is blurred was heavy foliage and the sun was not penetrating it too much. It was very important to get a light meter reading just from the flower.Equipment
I took this shot with a Nikon D3200 ( a good basic cheaper camera ) I have since gone up to a D7200. Aperture was f/5.6 because I wanted to blur the background so the flower just stood out. ISO 160. As I was using a zoom telephoto lens 55 - 300mm set at 260mm I used a higher shutter speed of 1/500 per second to cut down on any camera shake or movement of the flower. The camera was hand held with a real arm brace against my chest and stomach. Since I had the luxury of being at home I remember going and getting a spray bottle full of water and spraying it over the flower so it had water droplets on the petals. You can just see them in the photo, I think it adds just a little to the shot.Inspiration
Usually waterlilies only open up for the day then slowly die off. This particular morning there were 5 flowers with this one being the largest and thought it would make a good photo.Editing
I post processed it using Lightroom. I did all the usual things like sharpening and I also gave it a little vibrance and saturation as the bright sun did wash the colour out a bit.In my camera bag
I have a Nikon D7200 body with a Nikkor 18 - 55mm lens , Nikkor 55 - 300mm lens and a Sigma wide angle 10 - 20mm lens. I use UV and Polarising filters and carry a infra red remote shutter release when I use my Zomei graphite tripod.Feedback
Look around where you live you'll be surprised what photos are possible with a little common sense and camera knowledge. If you look at something and say to yourself `that would make a good photo' act on it.
