Poppy Angles1233
Another California Poppy, I like the hillside view.
Another California Poppy, I like the hillside view.
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Apr, 2018Views
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pamelawinter
November 06, 2021
Just beautiful! And the lighting is fantastic. I couldn't pass this by without saying anything (California native here)!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken during a hike with friends in the foothills above Sutter Creek California, a couple of hours east of Sacramento. We were hiking on a trail that is known for an abundance of spring flowers so I made sure to bring my camera bag with my favorite flower lenses ready to go.Time
Our friends wanted to get an "early" start right after breakfast, so we could make it to the pass by noon. As much of the trail was in a canyon, the lighting varied from open sun to deep shadows and a good mix of open shade. It was a 3 hour hike to the summit and I was able to shoot all the way, although my hiking partners preferred to just hike. As it turned out, the route was steep and my partners were slow so I managed to get some quality shooting time in, at least through the uphill portions.Lighting
I knew it was going to be a challenge to shoot in the varied lighting we would experience as we hiked to the pass. I was hoping to get a mix of photo opportunities to take advantage of backlighting, shadows and sun streaming through the canopy. In the series of shots that day I did indeed manage to get good captures with a range of lighting effects. For this shot I noticed a line of California poppies on a high spot next to the trail, they popped against the shaded hill behind them and the early spring sun sprayed trickles of light through the foliage from above. If it were not for my dedication to my hiking partners I would have lingered here as the light changed, but I moved on after a few frames.Equipment
I shot this with a Nikon D850 camera and my favorite macro lens, Nikon's AF Micro Nikkor 200mm 1:4D. This is an older design lens that shows amazing bokeh and subject isolation. It needs to be shot in manual focus for this work and you need to really pay attention to depth of field as it grows very shallow as you approach close focus distance. I carry a small tripod or a hiking stick with a 1/4 thread to use as a monopod, but this was shot at ASA 400 at f5 at 1/400 second handheld, as the light breeze blowing the poppy stalks presented the biggest focus challenge.Inspiration
I don't get enough time to shoot in the California foothills and the window for the spring flower bloom can be short and unpredictable. When we got the invitation for the hike our friends had scouted the area and reported a good bloom, so I was excited at the opportunity to get a poppy image that I could be happy with, a goal that had eluded me for years.Editing
I process all of my work from RAW images using Adobe Photoshop and Bridge. I normally only adjust for exposure, color balance and minimal shadow/highlight settings in Bridge. I always apply lens correction and crop in Bridge and then do final post processing in Photoshop where there is better and easier control over the images final color, dynamic range and sharpening. The original RAW of this image was on the overexposed side but the dynamic range out of the D850 really allowed for holding down the highlights in the lit poppy petals.In my camera bag
I am currently shooting a Nikon D850 and have a collection of Nikon and Zeiss glass that I use depending on the daily itinerary. If we are travelling in the RV I always have a full kit across 3 different bags. For each day's exploration I might pack a bag with few different lenses. My go to choices are the 200mm Micro Nikkor, a Zeiss Makro Planar 2/100 ZF, a Nikkor AF-S 12-24 1:2.8G and a AF-S Nikkor 35mm 1:1.8G. I might bring a Nikkor AF-S 200-400 if I am shooting wildlife or need some reach, and a Nikkor AF-S 24-120 1:4G ED as a walk-around lens. I always have a large carbon fiber tripod and a small light one for hiking as well as a collection of filters and flash and light modifiers. The other kit I carry when I am travelling light is a Sony a6500 with an 18-105G and 70-300G, this allows me to carry a small, light bag anywhere with a good sensor and the perfect range of decent glass.Feedback
As someone who loves to explore I have found that the journey is the destination and there are a lot of photo opportunities on the way if you take the time to stop and see what might be found. Now that I have more time I plan explorations based upon what might be happening in the area. Desert flowers in the spring, mountain meadows in the summer or fall color in the canyon, each have their own special beauty and each will require that you put the time in to scout, focus on the details and shoot when the light shines.
