Blue Peonies (2)
Victoria, BC
Victoria, BC
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Jul, 2016Views
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Awards
Action Award
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Outstanding Creativity
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was taken on a trip my husband and I took to Vancouver, BC in April of 2016. We spent the morning wandering Stanley Park, one of the largest urban parks in the city. The gardens were in full bloom and my husband is a very, very patient man so when we go to a garden he finds a bench and reads while I disappear behind the lens.Time
I captured this in mid-afternoon. I loved the soft light filtered through the clouds.Lighting
I don't carry additional lighting when I shoot in the field. I do however, make adjustments in my camera for account for the natural light conditions and let the image 'talk' to me. If I don't like what I see, then I move on.Equipment
The equipment I used was my Nikon Df camera, and a Tamron 28.0-300 zoom lens f3.5-6.3 set to100mm and a low ISO of 125. I did not use a tripod, I found that my elbow and knee worked well.Inspiration
As a nature photographer, I get lost in gardens. What really spoke to me were the colors and contrasts in the petals. The peonies were in bloom throughout the park, and with this particular grouping, I loved the play between light and dark.Editing
I will do very minor post processing of my images in Lightroom to refine the feel and mood that I wanted to capture. For this image I did crop so that the focus became the flowers themselves rather than the background grass and more of the flower bed. I opted to slightly reduce the clarity, saturation, and vibrance to enhance the softness and provide a more etherial mood.In my camera bag
I don't have a lot of equipment, so my bag is usually pretty light. That said, I always have my Nikon Df, two Tamron lenses and hoods; a 28.0-300mm, f3.5-6.3 zoom lens and a 90 mm, f2.8 macro 1:1. I also carry Hoya polarizing filters, an extra, fully charged battery (essential!), and my tripod.Feedback
Local gardens, parks, and even your own back/front yard are wonderful places to find hidden treasures. I love to shoot up close and get softness and blur in my images. I always shoot RAW in aperture priority mode and most often at the smallest Fstop I can get on my lens, depending on my subject. My best advice would be not to be afraid to get up close and experiment. The golden rule to shoot early to mid morning and late afternoon to mid afternoon, is very true. Bright, harsh light is brutal. Look for textures, contrasts, and how something makes you feel. Spring, Fall and Winter are my favorite time to shoot in gardens. A mentor once told me in a Macro workshop: "anyone can take a beautiful picture, photography is about your voice and what you want your art to say." I have always remembered that. Finally, give yourself permission not to like everything you capture, it is ok to delete images, and remember to shoot what brings you joy. If you do that, it comes across in the final image.
