donbenderphotography
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People's Choice in The inside of the flower Photo Challenge
People's Choice in Yellow tamens on flower (macro) Photo Challenge
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Metamora-Hadley State Park near Lapeer, Michigan.Time
This photo was taken at approximately 1 pm in the afternoon.Lighting
This was all natural light, taken in a shady area.Equipment
I took this image with my Canon 80D and Tokina atx-i 100mm macro lens. No filters were used. The shot was taken using ISO200, f/2.8 in aperture priority mode and +0.3 stops EV, and a shutter speed of 1/4000s.Inspiration
I'd been out to visit a wildflower farm that unfortunately was closed, and on the way back I decided to visit this state park that I've visited before to camp. I'd remembered this area, and thought I'd see if the wildflowers were still there, and they were! I wanted to get a macro image of the delicate bloodroot flower and its stamens. I didn't see the tiny insects until I got home and looked at the image on my monitor!Editing
Yes, this image was post-processed with Topaz Sharpen AI and LuminarAI.In my camera bag
I typically carry my Canon 80D with five lenses (Canon 50mm f/1.8, 10-18mm wide angle zoom, 18-55mm zoom, and 55-250mm zoom, and Tokina 100mm macro prime lens). I also have my Haida M10 pro filter holder with a 10-stop ND and 3-stop GND filter and circular polarizer. Of course, I always have my standard accessories like spare batteries, lens hoods, memory cards, etc., and I carry a Godox V860-II speedlight with MagMod Sphere & MagBeam flash modifiers with color gels and gobos.Feedback
My advice is always simple...soak up everything about where you are, and feel the story that starts to reveal itself about your subject and your surroundings. I'm always amazed that eventually a compelling story begins to emerge, and my job then becomes how best to capture that story. Sometimes that's easy to do, sometimes it's damn hard, and sometimes I'm not able to do it at all. It's those times that I just enjoy the story and the moment, and then later it drives me to get better at my craft so in the future I can perhaps succeed.