lbalacha

Macro of a mini chrysanthemum

Canon EOS REBEL T2i

settings

Aperture f/11.0 ISO 100 Shutter 25/10 Focal Length 200/1

upload_date

Mar, 2015

Views

103

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in my backyard garden. It is a shot of a mini chrysanthemum, which was less than an inch in diameter, in full bloom. I am an amateur, self-taught photographer and I like to try something new everyday. I wander around my garden often, looking for opportunities to take unique macros of blooming flowers and crawling insects.

Time

This was shot early evening during springtime, when the pollen count was high. Little did I know that the shot will actually capture the amount of pollen seen on the flower. I had to wait until the light was just right, so it caught the beautiful golden color of the chrysanthemum.

Lighting

I used natural light of the setting sun. The beautiful colors of the golden hour also illuminated the petals underneath, thus increasing the beauty of the flower significantly.

Equipment

As this is a macro shot, I had to use a tripod for image stabilization. I did not need to use any fancy equipment or camera. Canon's entry level DSLR, the EOS Rebel T2i, with Tamron telephoto lens 24mm - 300mm, along with extension tubes were used to capture this shot.

Inspiration

I love the outdoors. I believe that you dont have to go anywhere exotic to take beautiful images. I often wander around my backyard looking for opportunities to take pictures of blooming flowers and buds, and creepy, crawly insects. My backyard garden is my little piece of heaven on earth and mixing my favorite place with my favorite hobby, ie. photography is my zen.

Editing

I did do some minimal post-processing. I used Photoshop to sharpen the image ever so slightly. I also enhanced the color and gave the image a tighter crop. I am a stickler for noise. So with every picture I take, I magnify the picture 100% in Photoshop and check for noise and Chromatic Aberration. Fortunately, this image had minimal noice and CA.

In my camera bag

I always carry with me my two favorite lens, Tamron 24mm - 300mm and the bigger heavier, Canon 70mm - 200mm L series lens. I never leave home without my tripod, or extra batteries or extra SD cards. The camera body I use these days is Canon 6D. However, my most important "equipment" of all is my notepad and pen, to take notes and pointers of locations for my next photo shoot, ideas which come to my mind as I am clicking a particular scenery, or to remind me of an interesting setting or effect which I would have read online and jotted it down for future reference.

Feedback

Be willing to get on your hands and knees and get dirty in order to take macro shots such as this. Always be on the lookout for the really small, easy to miss objects around you, whose beauty you can magnify with your lens. If you are original and creative, you can take the most awesome of pictures with the most basic cameras. Like the saying goes, it is not the camera, but the person behind it, that counts.

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lbalacha

lbalacha

Macro of a mini chrysanthemum

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow lbalacha

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