The Poppy

The Bud

The Bloom

The Garden

Another Bud

The Center of the Flower

Dancing in the Evening Breeze

Settings: ss 1/125 f 4.5 ISO 800

Nikon D810, Nikkor 105mm 2.8

Natural, diffused, soft light.

Last week on Monochromia I posted a photograph of a pond with geese swimming in the rain.  You can view the post HERE.  The photographs of the poppy flowers and buds above were taken the same evening after the rain shower passed.

I have always been mesmerized by the Poppy.  The detail of its creation; the incredible bud from which the flower blooms, the intricate detail of the center of the bloom, the delicate, flowing petals, and the passionate color.  Unique and beautiful.

Today is Thursday so you get two posts for one, so to speak!  Be sure to visit Monochromia for my Thursday black and white photography post.

Dazzled by the Light I

SS1/60 f 4.5 ISO 1000

“Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.” ~ Junichiro Tanizaki
To see this image in black and white please visit Monochromia for my Thursday post.

The process for creating this photograph and most of my other flower photographs is a bit more complicated than using a white or black backdrop.  I have surprised people when telling them that no, it is not a white or black back drop, it is how I used the light that created the effect in my photograph.

To create a white back ground using only natural light, I am using back lighting or side lighting.  I meter on the subject, the flower, for proper exposure.  This creates a white or blown out effect in the back ground or side area.   If I metered on the light, my subject would be under exposed.  The angle of my camera determines the amount of haze or flare in my image.  If my lens is angled up toward the light more light is going to enter the lens and haze or flare will occur.  To avoid this effect, I simply angle my lens down so that light isn’t directly entering it.  This is a very simplified description of angle of incidence.

To create a black back ground using only natural light, I use front lighting.  The light is hitting my subject so that it is well lit.   When I meter on the subject for proper exposure, this makes everything behind the subject dark and creates a dark or black back ground.   In this scenario, if I let the camera determine exposure, or if I metered on the area behind my subject, my subject would be over exposed.

I hope you found this information of use, or at least interesting, for your photography journey.  Please let m know if you have any questions.

Lensless

I had no intentions of posting today, but I was nominated for the 7-day nature challenge on Facebook by another photographer.   I posted photographs from my archives the past two days and the photographer then reminded me that I was supposed to post photographs of the snow like everyone else.  Well, I honestly tire of looking at pictures of the snow after about a week or so of repetitively seeing them.   But, to make the photographer happy I decided to go out and shoot this afternoon.  I climbed through at least two feet of snow and played.  It was warm, 40 degrees F and it felt great to be outside and playing with my camera.  I felt somewhat like an animal on the prowl as I searched for my subjects.

While I was photographing a pine cone using back lighting and creating beautiful bokeh I remembered an article I recently read about lensless photography.   Because I had the time and was on a mission to create some unique winter images I decided to try it.  The above photographs are the results.

Do you love the hazy effect as much as I do?  I feel like I captured my prey.  One might argue that the first image is too “blue” meaning the white balance is off, but I was in the shade and it is a winter/snow shot and it is cold so to me, the color is perfect for what I was representing with my work.

Which do you prefer?  The color photograph or the black and white?