Blue Water Lily
In the pond at the Conservatory of Flowers
In the pond at the Conservatory of Flowers
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Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photograph, "Blue Water Lily" was shot on one of the two Japanese-styled ponds in the San Francisco Botanical Garden. I visit this location at least once a month, throughout the year, and since 2008. The flower is almost balanced on the surface of the water with some clearance from the other flowers and plants.Time
It was shot on October 2, 2012 at 12.54 PM, around lunch time. It was a sunny day.Lighting
As far as the Botanical Garden is concerned, we get a lot of angled light throughout the day. We are surrounded by trees in an irregular fashion. The light levels and intensity vary a lot during an average day. There is also a mountain to the south, which doesn't cut out light during the morning or evening, but limits it during the midday hours. There is a lot of secondary light and reflected light. There are lot of changing light conditions with lots of reflections and shadows.Equipment
I used a Canon xSi DSLR, 12.2 MP camera with a Canon 55-250 mm lens, no filters. No flash, no tripod. Fairly standard equipmentInspiration
I love colors. I would say that I like to interpret and develop the optical possibilities of a situation, or environment. To me, it is a bit like a scientific laboratory, investigating light, and how you can use it to interpret the world, scientifically, philosophically and factually. Many of the subjects I take are scientific subjects, subjects that can be thought about scientifically.Editing
I just made minor adjustments to Contrast and Midtones in Microsoft Office Picture Manager. It helped diffuse the background and gave a sharpened glaze to the yellow center of the flower. But, minor adjustments only.In my camera bag
At the moment, I use the Canon t3i, 18 MP DSLR and the Lumia 1020 41MP smartphone camera. The lenses for the t3i, that are in the bag, right now, are the Canon 18-135 mm, 75-300mm, Tamron 18-200mm and Tamron 90 mm portrait macro lens. But, I have a lot of lenses.Feedback
To take this kind of shot and for flowers, in general, I try to get the line of sight well above the subject. I wanted to be focused well into the center of the flower. This tends to be difficult in the pond locations, where there is a bank with vegetation and there is some distance to the flowers. You get a better light reflected from the subject and there are more options. There is often a lot of options for shots as well. It is best to stick to the simple shots, with clarity about the specific objective of the shot. Good light is important.
