Cactus Flower2
A rare ocassion of a double cactus bloom.
This flower blooms once in a few years and it only last for a few minutes. So lucky to be able to witness it an...
Read more
A rare ocassion of a double cactus bloom.
This flower blooms once in a few years and it only last for a few minutes. So lucky to be able to witness it and capture in an image. Seize beauty when you can, it will not last.
Tripod stand; Natural available light; +0.3 EV;
Capture One 20
Exposure adjusted; Curves adjusted; Sharpeness preset.
Read less
This flower blooms once in a few years and it only last for a few minutes. So lucky to be able to witness it and capture in an image. Seize beauty when you can, it will not last.
Tripod stand; Natural available light; +0.3 EV;
Capture One 20
Exposure adjusted; Curves adjusted; Sharpeness preset.
Read less
Apr, 2020Views
111
Likes
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 20 rank
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 2Top 10 rank week 1Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in my family house, at the back yard. Where we are sheltering in place for the last 90 days. Having 2 yards is rare and a most welcome asset in this lockdown days.Time
I took it just before 8 in the morning, quite a challenge because this flowers only bloom for a few minutes and sometimes almost 2 to 4 years apart. As soon as I saw the button knew that I had to be ready, is quite odd having to hunt for a flower like it was a wild animal.AsLighting
As it was taken in the open, there was not much I could do for the lighting, only hoping that the flower decided to fully bloom at a time I had a good natural light. I'm a natural/available light amateur, for two reasons, 1 still don't have a proper camera/ equipment, 2 waiting until I own a better camera to begin learning how to use artificial lights.Equipment
The shot was captured with my Sony QX100, a mirror and screen less camera, tethered to a Moto g7 Power cellphone. A cheap tripod and a patio table to rise and get to the level I wanted.Inspiration
With all the world getting down locking down, curfews, distancing and all, this plant just decided to bloom not one but 2 flowers at the same time, was like winning the lottery not once but twice in a matter of days. Guess that back in my mind I went like, OK if something as rare as this plant flowers can show beauty and resilience, we can get over it too. And the conditions could not be better a mild dew over the 2 button, the flower blooming at a great hour for lighting, everything was just perfect not to attempt to capture it in an image.Editing
My camera only save images as JPGs, so a little bit of post processing is a must for me, I learned with film so processing an image fells like finishing the job after taking the picture. I have couple of software fort he task but seems like I feel more comfortable with Capture One. So when I take the image I pushed the EV to +0.3 and with capture One lowered it -0.1. Then adjusted the curves, Darkening the shadows, locking the mid tones and just a hint of high tones up. Finally used a Sharpness preset to obtain well defined dew drops. Those are the same steps I use most of the time, but every image get slightly different values, I want my images to look good but not over processed.In my camera bag
As I sated above, my only gear is the QX100, a mini tripod, a cheap tripod, an a cell phone to tether the camera. I love the optics in such a small, portable system. Wishing some day I can get a proper camera and lenses. But I'm a believer that the only gear that matter is 6 inches behind anything you choose to take a picture with.Feedback
Know the pros and cons of whatever you choose to take the image with. You don't need expensive fancy gear if you have enough imagination, understand a little bit how light works, plan in your head what you are looking for, but are fast enough to adapt and improvise while taking the image. And, always post process in a computer, capturing the image is just 50% of the job, tweaking the image can be as fun as capturing it and it will show.
