Blue Water Lily
Taken at the Getty Villa in Malibu, Calif.
Taken at the Getty Villa in Malibu, Calif.
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Canon EOS 7D
Aperture f/8 ISO 1000 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 200/1 
Malibu, California, US
Oct, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this at the Getty Villa (art museum) in Malibu, California. There was a large lily pond and this flower was almost in the middle of the pond. I got down level with the flower to capture both the light on the water and the spikiness of the flower.Time
It was mid-morning, but the flower was mostly in the shade. There was only a gentle ocean breeze, so the water was rippling just a bit.Lighting
The Getty Villa has a lot of light colored stone surfaces inside and out that bounce the light softly over large areas, like massive soft boxes. It's the kind of light that makes anything look great. It would be incredible for a portrait shoot. I always look for bounced light when I'm outside because it can make even everyday things look epic.Equipment
I took this shot with a Canon 7D, with an EF 70-200 mm IS II USM. The focal length was 200 mm at f/8, because I wanted to capture the water in focus. (The picture is cropped; it was a big pond and a small flower). Exposure was 1/200 sec at 1000 ISO. I didn't have a tripod, but I did brace the camera on the edge of the pond enclosure.Inspiration
It was the light that moved me to take this picture. The light reflected off the water like sparkling brush strokes and lit up the top of the flower and the leaf in a way that was rather magical. It literally took my breath away for an instant.Editing
I do all my post-processing through Photoshop. I cropped the image, because I wanted to have only the flower and the curve of light, and I was too far away to get only that with a 200 mm lens. I darkened the background in the upper half to make the flower stand out. I cloned out some distractions. I enhanced the light on the flower and its reflection, and slightly darkened the highlights in the water. I added a bit of vignette. I thought I was done, but then I ran it through Topaz Restyle to see if I liked any of the effects. That brought it from a weaker, slightly purple blue to the final color. It also darkened the greens of the leaf and water, which I liked a lot. The effect of the filter was too strong for my taste, so I reduced opacity of the layer with the filter and also selectively masked some of it out. I then ran a layer of the almost-done image through Topaz Simplify cartoon layer and put that on top at low opacity in Soft Light mode. I really enjoy transforming images with post-processing. It lets me create the magical feeling I have when I take the image, even though only the beginnings of that are in the raw image. I have a print of this on the wall at home, printed on metallic paper. It really makes the colors pop and does the lighting justice.In my camera bag
I've moved on to a Nikon D810 with a 28-300 mm f3.5/5.6 zoom lens. I only carry a second (wide-angle) lens and tripod if I'm shooting landscapes. Several lens wipes, a lens brush, and maybe a polarizing lens complete what I carry. If I carry more, I'm usually too wound up to remember to use it.Feedback
Look in less-traveled spaces. This flower was in a pond that is off to one side, behind a wall - I think a lot of people never see it. Look for bounced light because it is your friend; it lets you see things in a new way. Consider the environment - the water in this picture is as important as the flower. And when you see something interesting, take the shot from different angles -- make it your own. You don't want a portfolio of images that people feel as if they've seen before a thousand times. You want them to look at yours and see something special.
