Enchanted Orchard
Sun streaming into an orchard and lighting up the blossoms.
Sun streaming into an orchard and lighting up the blossoms.
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Mar, 2021Views
88
Likes
Awards
Winner in almond trees in flower Photo Challenge
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1
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Top 30 rank
Categories
PRO+
mariekuskivieira
March 03, 2023
Many congrats for winning my challenge with this very beautiful shot!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
One of the things I've been lucky enough to participate in is an organization called Yolo Arts. It promotes all arts in the county and provides some great opportunities for artists whether you're a painter, photographer, or another form. One of the great things they do is the Art and Ag Project. For 9 - 10 months each year, they find farmers willing to open up their farms for all of us to come and see what they're doing and for us to create our own art about their farms. It's a great way for the community to get together and build a bond with the farmers. This was Rominger Farms where they have a lot of almond trees. I'm very thankful for this opportunity and love being able to share agriculture life with others.Time
The farm visits are generally between 8 a.m. and 12 noon on either a Thursday or a Saturday. Since I have a full time job I always go on Saturday and make sure I get there by 8 a.m. to maximize my time! This would have been probably around 8:30 or 9:00 with the sun shining through the orchard.Lighting
In general this day the lighting wasn't ideal as the sun was pretty harsh and it was windy. Inside the orchard though the sun would hit just right to give this magical feeling, almost like a bunch of little flower lights lighting up the orchard.Equipment
Since I was looking at a bunch of almond blossoms I was looking at doing primarily macro on this day. I used my favorite macro set up which is my Canon 5Dm2 with my Canon 180mm f/3.5L Macro lens. It does an excellent job on macro shots and also does great for other shots like this! It's versatility is one reason I love this lens! Since I was struck by the natural lighting of this scene I opted not to use anything else and turned the flash off so it wouldn't fire.Inspiration
As I was looking for angles to get macro shots I happened to notice how the sun was shining down through the orchard. I was inspired by the way the flowers were practically glowing towards the center of the scene and the ones closer to me still in shadow. I wasn't sure if it would translate but I had to try and I'm glad I did! I used a shallow depth of field (f/3.5) to make sure the center was highlighted.Editing
Due to the harsh lighting and contrast I did have to do a bit of post processing on this shot. The strong sunlight and dark shadows can be a challenge. I ended up tweaking the contrast, highlights and contrast as well as a bit of clarity and vibrance to get this as close to the magical scene I experienced as possible.In my camera bag
My main camera bag is guaranteed to have one of my Canon 5Ds (either the m2 or, now, more likely my m4) and a 2nd body that would either be the other 5D or the 7Dm2 depending on what I'm out to photograph. My 5Dm2 has been a workhorse and highly dependable for me for over 10 years and the m4 is proving to be one as well. With these cameras I know that if the shot didn't come out it was my fault. I always have my favorite lens, the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L II as well. This lens on a 5D is a dream combination. From wildlife to landscape to pseudo macro, this combination rarely disappoints! If I'm out for macro, like on this day, then I'll include my Speedlight flashes as well. I will also always have spare batteries and memory cards as well as snacks, water, and gear for incase the weather changes. Always have to be prepared!Feedback
One thing I like to tell people is to always look around. Don't get focused on just one thing, even if your equipment suggests that. This shot for instance, I was set up for macro but when I was looking around the scene appeared and I had to take it even with a macro/telephoto sized lens. Landscapes don't have to be taken with a wide-angle lens and macro lenses can be used for other types of shots. Another thing I like to say is to not discount photo opportunities because the lighting isn't "good". Challenge yourself and get creative. Try to see what you can do to make something out of what is considered nothing. Learn to make the situation work for you. It takes effort creativity but in the end you learn that there's always a shot no matter what the weather, lighting, or your equipment is. If you're shooting with digital, it's cheap and you can afford to experiment at the risk of coming home with nothing and possibly getting that surprise shot that you love!
