Today’s field trip was to the Grower’s Market. They always have such lovely flowers. I refrained from buying a bouquet to take home and photograph but that may happen yet. Not much post processing here. Just a little sharpening and some tweaking of exposure and spot healing off some pollen.
This was one of the flowers I brought home from the nursery the other day. It has been patiently waiting it’s turn to be photographed. But, by the time I finished my errands it was getting pretty windy out so I decided to bring it in to the studio to pose. I’m still experimenting with the Sweet 50. I like a shot I did of the flower in a bottle but I didn’t quite find the sweet spot as I was trying to maneuver the tripod in the tiny studio. But this one came out well. I added a high pass filter and a texture. I think the color is more red than the real flower which is more purple but I’m not one of those people who gets all wrapped around the axle about things like that. It is still beautiful and that is the point.
So, I swung by North Mountain Park again after church. This time I used the big girl camera hand held with the Sweet 50 lens. I have a hard time holding that big camera steady but it is easier to get down to the level of the flowers. This one has a lot going on in post processing. I did a high pass filter, then added a texture. I really like the purples of the lavender behind the marigold but wanted to soften them a little more. Then I took the whole thing into Topaz Impression and added a chalk-smudge filter which I lowered to 50% giving me a look I like though maybe it still need a vignette but I’m done messing with it for now. The end game here is to get a few great shots that can be printed large on canvas for a show. I’m still on the fence on this one but it might work.
And not to neglect the wildflowers. The Queen Anne’s Lace is going crazy in my neighborhood right now. So I took the new lensbaby for a walk this morning. In post processing I just bumped up the exposure and added one texture. I was really blown away by how that one texture really made this one pop.
I know, I know, enough with the coneflowers already. But they are what is blooming fresh and bright right now. I found this one at the nursery yesterday and brought it home to plant in my yard when I am done photographing it. I also got a new toy yesterday. A lensbaby sweet 50! It is a lens designed to have a sweet spot of focus and then fade off to blur at the edges. I still need more practice to get the photos I’m envisioning. In this case I was trying to make sure it was focusing right in my viewfinder and accidentally left the aperture set at f11. But I loved how all the little spikes came out in focus so I went with it. I added a texture to darken the left side and a vignette to darken the corners.
Yesterday I spent 4th of July at my Mom’s house with my sister and her family. My Mom has lived in the same house for over 60 years now. She is not really up to gardening anymore but she loves her flowers so my brother and sister-in-law keep her patio garden going and parts of her yard have just gone wild so things that have been planted over the years are still blooming with abandon. Long story short, I spent some time running around her yard taking pictures yesterday afternoon and I have enough different flowers to last at least another week, or at least plenty to draw on come crunch time. And another place to add to my list of rotating field trips.
These geraniums were so over the top vibrant I had to tone them down a little using a Lightroom preset. I did the usual high pass filter, then added a texture with a slight vignette to it.
As if to make a liar out of me the wind was dead calm this morning so I went out in the yard and photographed just about everything that was blooming. I especially liked the way the blue from the hydrangea provided a background for this cone flower that was just coming into bloom. A texture added a little visual interest to the background.
The problem with flower photography can be summed up in one word. Wind. In order to minimize the wind (which causes blur due to movement of the flowers) you need to get out there early in the morning before the winds pick up. But this time of year that means before 7am. So, long story short, I am running out of enthusiasm for getting out there that early and have started turning to the archives. I shot this blanket flower at North Mountain Park on Sunday and it was definitely a contender for that days pick. I also wanted to flex my post processing skills a little. My current photography guru is in to Lightroom presets (i.e. canned sets of adjustments to create a unique look) and textures. So I used one of her presets, which in this case was pretty subtle and just darkened the background a little and helped the main flower to come forward. Similarly with the texture, I masked it out over the main flower but it helps add to the overall blur in the background so that the star can shine forth.
One of the things I love about this project is that it opens my eyes and changes my focus. Yesterday I spotted these huge lavender bushes along Hwy 99 in Talent. I’ve probably driven by them 20 times and not really seen them. So I decided to change up my morning walk and head over there with the M3. When I got up close and personal I realized that most of the little flowers haven’t opened yet. So there’s one to go back for. I also saw some flowers in neighborhood gardens which were interesting but not quite in full bloom so there is hope that I won’t run out of material too soon. My walk took me through downtown Talent where there were plenty of shops and residences with beautiful flowers on display. Proving once again that it is good to get out of your rut once in awhile and it is good to have a project that inspires you to do so.
I stopped by North Mountain Park this morning after church with the Canon M3, my walking around camera. I experimented with all my lenses including the 28mm macro with a super macro feature, which is one of the more unique lenses available in the M mount. I still haven’t quite mastered the super macro feature. It seems like you have to be right on top of the subject to get it in focus.
But this was taken with the 50-200 zoom with a closeup lens. I was just blown away by how sharp it was in all the right places. And no, I did not add any saturation in post processing, it was just that fresh and bright. I did add a high pass filter to sharpen the details and a vignette to help make the flower the star of the show. But that’s all, really. If I were going to print it I would probably try to take out that stem on the right but all in all I would call this a pretty successful in camera capture. Good practice for my upcoming garden tour in B.C. where I will only have the small camera with me.