Tulips Bokeh Background
Bokeh background highlights sunny day tulips at dawn
Bokeh background highlights sunny day tulips at dawn
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Jan, 2016Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Flowers And More Flowers Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Flowers With Bokeh Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
This picture was taken in a park in Urbana Illinois, where I sometimes go to read or exercise. The spring tulips that year were especially large - some of the largest I'd ever seen. When sitting there watching them for a bit, the had an almost calming effect when blown by a gentle breeze.Time
Knowing how exceptionally pretty these tulips appeared to be, and knowing how they enchanted me during the daytime, I decided to take my camera with me to work that day so I could stop by after work and take some pictures of them around dusk to see if that allowed an even more magical effect.Lighting
Lighting can make or break the picture, so it was important to me to ensure getting there at just the right time in the evening to somehow capture a 'magical' affect.Equipment
I used my Nikon D5200 Camera without no tripid, but had to lay down on the ground to get the right angle. No flash, no tripod, just me, my camera and the ground.Inspiration
I was inspired by the colors and size of the flowers, and how they can still be exceptionally large that year and still retain their delicacy and appear fragile. Thus I was hoping to capture the spirit of that in a picture in which the lighting would compliment the flowers themselves.Editing
I did do some post-processing to achieve the final look & feel of this photo. I wanted to project a gentle & peaceful feeling, and create a calming effect for the viewer that was similar to the feeling I had when watching the tulips for the first time and they were fluently swaying in a slight breeze. I added a little graininess for "aura", slightly decreased the vibrance/saturation on everything except the reds, pinks, yellows of the flowers, and softened the total photo ever so slightly.In my camera bag
I typically have my camera, spare batteries, extra memory sticks, at least 2 lenses: Tamron 24-70mmmm Zoom, and Nikkor 70-200mm; my go-to lenses.Feedback
If something stirs an emotion of feeling in you, it probably will in others also. Capture that in your photography, remember those feelings you had at the time, and re-create it for others. In reality, a photographer is talking a moment out of time and holding it still for others to see. But it's the reaction of the viewer that makes it art and gives it a 'future' - how you present it, when it's viewed by others, should give them a feeling as if time could resume from the moment that image was captured and spark emotion and feeling similar to what you felt when you took the photo. Tell the story that words can not tell, allow the viewers imagination to spark their feelings as well.
