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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in the Portage Park area of Chicago.Time
It was mid-morning........the light was strong and directionalLighting
To me....this is always the tricky part when you're shooting flowers. Too flat and it's boring. Too contrasty and sometimes, the shadows become a distraction. This image was somewhere in between.Equipment
The camera was a Canon 40D with a Tamron 28-75mm zoom.Inspiration
I had made it a point to go for a 3 mile walk from my house to the park every morning, weather permitting. It was spring/early summer and the neighbors had done a beautiful job of planting flowers. At first, I took what I would call "snapshots".......just nice pictures of flowers that you see on calendars, post cards, etc. I wasn't completely satisfied with that and I found myself cropping tighter and tighter.......trying to find the design element inside that would turn an ordinary picture of a flower into a graphic, suitable for framing, lol. If the composition is strong enough, with the right image there is a point where the viewer no longer immediately sees a flower and instead, is looking at a graphic design of an undiscovered world.Editing
Lightroom is my initial go to. The image was color and exposure corrected and then cropped. Not much more was done in post-processing.In my camera bag
For these strolls to the park, I travel lite. All I carry is my camera and lens.Feedback
There are so many "snapshots" of flowers already out there that I think you need to do something different if you want your image to stand out. Any number of things could be used......unique lighting, perspective, macro are just a few. Let your imagination run wild!