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Flaming-Bird-of-Paradise-2-PPW

The sun lit up this Bird of Paradise like it was on fire.

The sun lit up this Bird of Paradise like it was on fire.
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Nov, 2015

Views

415

Likes

+70

Awards

People's Choice in Bird of Paradise Flowers,, Photo Challenge

Peer Award

+14

Top Choice

Superb Composition

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

Absolute Masterpiece

Superior Skill

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

I was trying to fix a focus issue with my then-new 300mm f/4E lens producing blurry images when I tried it out. ,So, I tried an AF Fine Tune and was just shooting grab shots in my backyard in San Jose CA s when done to see if the lens worked OK. I happened to like this one image although I had never intended to process any of the images. D810, 300 mm f/4E @f/4, 1/1250, ISO 45o, manual mode with auto ISO. VR active

Time

It was late afternoon, and the sun was strongly lighting the Bird of Paradise plant.

Lighting

It was ALL about the light!!. The sun was hitting the orange/red part of the flower so strongly, it looked like it was on fire. Without this drama, I never would have processed the file.

Equipment

D810, 300 mm f/4E @f/4, 1/1250, ISO 450, manual mode with auto ISO. VR active

Inspiration

As stated above, without the light, this would just be another boring bird of paradise photo.

Editing

The NEF was converted in Capture NX-D only to change the picture control to neutral, and to capture the lens corrections and other D810 settings. The NEF image was converted to a 16-bit TIFF and sent to PSCS6 extended where it was processed using Picture Postcard workflow for the final image.

In my camera bag

All the equipment I used to shoot this image has been sold. I now have a Nikon Mirrorless system, anchored by a Z7 which replaced the D810. I had previously replaced the 300 mm f/4 E with a 300 mm f/4 PF lens. I also have the following Z lenses: 24-70 f/4,24-120 f/4, 70-200 f/2,8, with 2x teleconverter, 105 mm f/2.8 Macro lens, 14-30 f/4 .

Feedback

You have heard it before, the light is everything. Here I was trying to fine-tune my 300 mm lens with no intention of saving the results, yet the lighting made the image so unique, I KEPT IT. Keep your eyes open to how the light affects your image. Is there a better position to shoot? Should you wait for the light to change?

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Flaming-Bird-of-Paradise-2-PPW

The sun lit up this Bird of Paradise like it was on fire.

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow robsb

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