Lupine

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Steve West
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Lupine

Post by Steve West »

Every once in a while, I snap a macro. I couldn't resist this Lupine.

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KM A2

Steve

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Kenv
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Post by Kenv »

They are beautiful flowers Steve, we get them growing wild in some part of NZ and they make a beautiful sight.
Kenv
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MikeBinOKlahoma
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Post by MikeBinOKlahoma »

This lupine is so pretty it makes me want to howl at the moon! :-) (lupine...I know, weak pun).

Good choice of subject and great colors. I could do without the OOF flower on the right, though it does sort of redeem itself by echoing the main subject.

For some reason, the two OOF flowers, one directly behind the subject, and one to the left, don't bother me. I guess all three create a sort of symnetry.
Mike Broderick
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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

These are pretty. I have never noticed them around the mountains here. We probably have them too, I don't know. I will have to keep a look out for them. Great image Steve and nice colors. :D
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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

Hey Steve, looks like the Macro bug is biting you :lol: . Beautiful flower. I wished the BG was a bit more toned down. Looks like you had some harsh light to deal with as well. Nice composition with the flower coming up out of the corner of the frame.
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Steve West
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Location: Tucson, AZ USA

Post by Steve West »

Thanks all for looking at the photo and the comments. Interesting that I get so fixated on the focused foreground object that I don't pay attention to the background--especially when taking the photo! I'm reading Mike's comments on the 3 OOF lupines in back--I didn't even notice the middle and left ones until you pointed it out! Sue, the harsh light is full AZ sun--it's harsh.

So when you guys take a picture of something like this, and you dont' have a tripod, do you wander around the subject trying to get the best background, or do you carry a card with you for the background? In order to get rid of the harsh sunlight, you'd have to carry some sort of translucent screen to put over the subject...

Steve

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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

Steve

I have reflectors/deflector that are designed to kill the harsh mid-day sun, but the way to fix the problem is to do all your photography at prime golden light early morning or early evening. The sun's reflection is gorgeous at those times.

As for the backgound, I look thru the viewfinder and use my DOF preview to see what will look the best. Sometimes I have to change my aperture to get the best results.
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MikeBinOKlahoma
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Post by MikeBinOKlahoma »

Sue's answer covered it pretty well.

Other options for mid-day photography include photographing on cloudy days, using fill flash to brighten up the areas in shadow and reduce the overall dynamic range (range of brightness) in the shot, or (assuming you are shooting using flash) seeking subjects in wooded areas or other places that are shaded.

I have some diffusers, but similar to Sue, I almost never actually use them.
Mike Broderick
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"I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.....My mandate includes weird bugs."--Calvin

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paul
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Post by paul »

The background makes it easy to imagine a whole field of lupins, and the detail is captured nicely in the main subject. Glad you come visiting every once in a while, bearing gifts like this.

Cheers, Paul
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Steve West
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Post by Steve West »

Thanks much Paul! Also thanks to Sue and Mike for some pointers. I'm not sure I could ever carry around re/deflectors and the like. Waiting for sunset/rise is a great idea, but not always practical.

The flash fill sounds great. I just snagged a Minolta ADI wireless TTL flash for my A2, and the potential for side-lit macros seems really great. I've been driving the kids crazy testing various flash geometries on them :)

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S. Alden
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Post by S. Alden »

The reflectors/deflectors are not my favorite things either. For one thing, you have to carry them around. You need plamps and a tripod to hold them or another body that is willing. I prefer to shoot freehand and use a tripod on rare occasions.
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Laura
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Post by Laura »

Lovely shot of a lovely subject Steve! Excellent BG per chosen DOF here :D
Nikon D70
18-70 kit lens
Nikkor 70-300
Sigma DG 105 macro
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