MarieDmr_

Peonies

Montreal, , CA

upload_date

Apr, 2020

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Awards

Zenith Award

Curator's Selection

Spring 21 Award

2020 Choice Award

Outstanding Creativity

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 20 rank

Top 20 rank week 1

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken last summer, during a Sunday afternoon stroll in Montreal's Botanical Garden.

Time

This was taken in the middle of a hot and sunny July afternoon, walking around the garden with my best friend as we caught up on each other's lives and often stopped to take in the beauty around us.

Lighting

Because this was in the middle of a heatwave, the sun was creating some harsh lighting and shadows on most of the shots I took that day. However, a little detour by a section of the garden shaded by trees created the perfect setting for softer images!

Equipment

This was shot with my Canon EOS 200D and the nifty fifty (50mm f/1.8) lens, no additional equipment.

Inspiration

Peonies have always been my favourite flowers. Not only do they smell amazing, but I love how they look, with an overload of petals in the softest of pinks. I wanted to highlight the delicate beauty of it by focusing on one particular flower which had little bugs in it, making it stand out from the rest of the bush.

Editing

Because it was a beautiful sunny day, there was not much editing required, just some basic levels and a little boost of saturation in Lightroom to really make the pink pop. Because I really wanted to focus on the details of the middle flower, I took this photo at f/1.8 in order to organically get this interesting "blurred vignette" effect, without having to create it in post-production.

In my camera bag

It really depends on what I'm shooting! Regardless of the situation, my body of choice is the Canon EOS 200D, as it's a really light DSLR which makes it amazing to carry around. I shoot a lot of concerts, so my top 3 lenses would be by 24mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.8 when I get close to the stage, and my kit 70-300mm lens when I have to be further away. On the day I took this photo, I had the 50mm and 70-300mm with me, to be able to switch between wider frames but also get some nice macro shots without getting too close to the bees I used as models!

Feedback

Walk around, experiment with the nature around you. The good thing about this type of shot is that the flower isn't going anywhere, so you can take your time to nail that perfect image! And of course, always take the time to smell the peonies :)

See more amazing photos, follow MarieDmr_

MarieDmr_

MarieDmr_

Peonies

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow MarieDmr_

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