Posts in Category: flowers
7/3/2010
Daylily in the Sun
This is the same lily as yesterday’s pic, but this time taken later in the morning when the early sun had found the flowers, and added some warmth to the purple.
Canon SX20IS. 1) 460mm equivalent @ f8 @ 1/640th @ ISO 125. Aperture preferred. 2) 28mm equivalent @ f8 @ 1/320 @ ISO 100. Aperture preferred.
The top shot is a good example of a tele-macro. It looks like a macro shot but it was taken from feet away at the long end of the zoom.
In Lightroom, Blackpoint just right, added Clarity and a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset. Auto white balance (since the Canon put too much warmth in the flowers…making them more peach than purple).
From The Yard: Kennebunk ME.
7/2/2010
First Daylilies of 2010
I was out early this morning for this shot of our first Daylily blooms. They actually came out yesterday, but I missed them. This is a fairly unique color for Daylily, and it is on the warmer side of the house so it often blooms first.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm and Super-macro. F2.8 @ 1/30th @ ISO 80. Programmed auto.
Blackpoint just slightly right in Lightroom 3. Added Clarity and a bit of Variance. Sharpen narrow edges preset. Cropped slightly on the right for composition.
From The Yard: Kennebunk ME.
And, for the fun of it, here is a similar shot taken with my new iPhone 4. You can see it on my flickr site by clicking the image. Not bad at all for a phone! Level adjustments and sharpening in PhotoGene on the iPhone.
7/1/2010
The Very Last Flowers from Machias
So, apparently I lied about the Last Flower from Machias, but when getting some pics of my daughter’s concert appearance off the card, I discovered a few more from the overgrown flower maze at University of Maine at Machias that I had not remembered taking. I took an early morning walk on our last day there and went by the garden. It was still in shade, but the subtle light produced an interesting depth to the colors, and the mixed daises and these yellowish flowers produced interesting patterns when isolated at the long end of the zoom.
Canon SX20IS at 560mm equivalent. F5.7 @ 1/125 @ ISO 200. Landscape program and –2/3 EV exposure compensation for the white petals.
Still, a bit of Recovery in Lightroom for those same petals. Fill Light for the rest, and Blackpoint just slightly right. Added Clarity and a tiny bit of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset.
From Machias 2010.
6/29/2010
One Last Flower from Machais
You may have noticed that I had lots of fun in the overgrown flower maze at the University of Maine at Machias…but I promise this is the last set from there (for now).
The delicate blues and purples of this bloom, highlighted in the sun, are what caught my eye of course.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm and Super-macro. F2.8 @ 1/1000th @ ISO 200. Programmed auto.
And this one, not in as full light, and from a lower angle to put it in context. Cropped slightly for composition. F2.8 @ 1/1250th @ ISO 80. Programmed Auto. –1.3 EV exposure compensation.
I could almost build a preset for Lightroom. A touch of Recovery for the highlights. Fill Light (more on the second shot) and Blackpoint just barely right. Added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset. The reason I don’t build a preset is the Blackpoint adjustment, which must be carefully gauged for each image. The top image showed considerable purple fringing along the out of focus flower edge on the right. I was able to remove some of it in Lightroom.
From Machias 2010.
6/28/2010
Yellow Loosestrife and Daisies
It took me 30 minutes to find this yellow flower on the internet…for some reason it has escaped my notice until now…until I found masses of it growing in the overgrown flower maze at the University of Maine at Machias. In the top image, the Loosestrife forms a backdrop for the small cluster of Daisies. The second is, of course, an uncompromising portrait of the the blossoms taken in Super-macro mode with the lens hood touching the flowers at the top.
Canon SX20IS at Macro and Super-macro and 28mm equivalent. 1) F2.8 @ 1/1250th @ ISO 160, 2) f2.8 @ 1/400 @ ISO 80. Programmed auto. –1 EV exposure compensation.
In Lightroom 3, Recovery for highlights, added Fill Light and Blackpoint just to the right. Added Clarity and very little Vibrance, Sharpen narrow edges preset.
From Machias 2010.
6/27/2010
Up with Flowers!
Happy Sunday!
Anther shot from the overgrown flower maze at the University of Machias. Daises and Lupine in abundance. This shot, from an odd angle, low down among the stems, captures some of the riot of blooms.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm and Super-macro. F3.5 @ 1/1250th @ ISO 160. Programmed auto.
Recovery in Lightroom 3 for the white petals and the sky. Fill Light and Blackpoint just barely right. Added Clarity and just a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset.
From Machias 2010.
6/26/2010
Red and White (and Yellow)
There is a neglected and overgrown flower maze on the campus of University of Maine at Machias, and I spent a happy hour while waiting for my daughter in the garden taking pics. I like the contrast of the red and the out-of-focus daisys in this one, plus the way the light in the background grades into shadow.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm and Super-Macro. F2.8 @ 1/1250th @ ISO 80. Programmed auto.
Some Recovery in Lighroom 3. A touch of Fill Light and Blackpoint barely right. Added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset.
From Machias 2010.
6/24/2010
About Light and Weathering
An interesting old building in Rockport ME on sunny afternoon. I like the weathered door and what the sun is doing with the shadows, especially of the porch light. I used the long end of the zoom on the Canon SX20IS to frame this snippet from across the street.
Canon SX20IS at 560mm equivalent. F5.7 @ 1/640th @ ISO 125. Landscape program.
In Lightroom 3, Recovery for highlights. A touch of Fill light and Blackpoint just barely right. Added Clarity and a bit of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset. A small amount of distortion correction and vertical perspective correction applied using the new tools in Lightroom 3.
From Rockport Maine.
6/23/2010
Seawall Beaver Pond
The active beaver pond behind the Seawall at Acadia National Park is always picturesque. Here the beach roses set off the foreground and enough of the pond peeks over the hedge to make an interesting composition. Since the sky was largely featureless on this overcast day, I cropped most of it out, which gives an intimate feel to the landscape.
Canon SX20IS at 28mm equivalent. F4.0 @ 1/320th @ ISO 80. Landscape program.
Besides the crop, in Lightroom 3, Recovery for the sky (though it did not help much on this day), Fill Light for the foreground, Blackpoint just barely right, added Clarity and just a bit of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset.
From Acadia 2010.
6/20/2010
Lupine Love
Happy Sunday! Again this year on my way up to Acadia I could not miss the masses of Lupine growing on banks along the interstate, and again, I determined to find a good stand in Acadia to photograph. The trick is not fining them…they are all over Mount Desert Island…the trick is finding them when they are not obliviously in someone’s yard, where it would be awkward at best to get out of the car to spend any time photographing them. Of course I need a good background too. Last year’s stand, near Southwest Harbor, was pretty sparse (I checked), but I found this field of them just off Route 3, near my motel. Good enough!
Of course, Lupine is not native to New England, or even to the Americas. [Note: further research, prompted by some viewer comments, yields the fact that while the Lupines most common in New England are not native to New England, they are native to North America. The Blue-pod Lupine, which is what you see in these tall mass stands generally, was introduced from the Northwest. Other cultivars have escaped from gardens, and there has been some inevitable cross-breeding. There is also a Wild Lupine, considerably shorter on the average, which is native to New England.] There is a children’s book about the lady who actually, like Johnny Appleseed, is responsible for their proliferation in Maine and adjoining states. IMHO we owe her a debt of gratitude. They are strikingly beautiful in the spring.
Subdued afternoon light on an overcast day. Hence the white sky, but otherwise perfect for photographing the color and the details of this striking plant.
Canon SX20IS. 1) 28mm equivalent @ f5.6 @ 1/320th @ ISO 160, 2) 215 mm @ f5.6 @ 1/250 @ ISO 125, 3) 28mm and Super-macro @ f5.6 @ 1/800 @ ISO 160. I was experimenting with aperture preferred.
Similar treatment for all in Lightroom. Recovery for the sky (though it did not help much), Fill Light and Blackpoint just barely right, added Clarity and a touch of Vibrance. Sharpen narrow edges preset.
From Acadia 2010.