Aberglasney floral shots

[carregwen]

Four shots from my feeble efforts at Aberglasney Garden (near where I live) this afternoon. C&C welcome as usual. All shot with Canon 50D and Sigma 105mm macro.

#1 Archonto Pheonix


#2 Tulip


#3 Trillium


#4 Magnolia

[carregwen]

Forgot the Ladies Smock!

[arith]

I'm not into flowers for there own sake but I really like #4. By the way has the 50D got a tad too many pixels, I've been looking at it and I still think 5D because although nyquist is astronomical for the 50D noise ruins it. Well you can get a brand new one for £800 which is about the price of an excellent 5D.

Well I'm not going to be taking any pics of flowers unless they are part of a bigger picture, so I'm thinking 5D and keep the 10D for the portrait stuff and fun stuff I sometimes do.

[carregwen]

I'm not into flowers for there own sake but I really like #4. By the way has the 50D got a tad too many pixels, I've been looking at it and I still think 5D because although nyquist is astronomical for the 50D noise ruins it. Well you can get a brand new one for £800 which is about the price of an excellent 5D.

Well I'm not going to be taking any pics of flowers unless they are part of a bigger picture, so I'm thinking 5D and keep the 10D for the portrait stuff and fun stuff I sometimes do.

Thanks Steve. I like #4 too. It was taken into the sun which is why it has that nice back light.

The 5D is excellent at handling noise, the 50D not so good. But then you wouldn't expect it. I'd go for a 5D and keep the 10D. I have 50D and 5D and find the combination very good. Horses for courses and all that.

[ScoutR]

Four shots from my feeble efforts at Aberglasney Garden (near where I live) this afternoon. C&C welcome as usual. All shot with Canon 50D and Sigma 105mm macro.

#1 Archonto Pheonix


#2 Tulip


#3 Trillium


#4 Magnolia

Hi Rob: glad to see more flowers
The magnolia is my favourite. It stands out so nicely from the background. The lighting is soft but still dramatic enough to make it special. If I put my critics hat on, there are a couple bright spots at the bottom (left and right, the centre one is OK) that I might clone out.

The Trillium is my second pick. It's a different view on the floral emblem of my province. I love the veining in the leaves and how it looks so detailed but still soft. I'm wondering on this one if it would be better if you cropped just a bit more off the bottom in order to keep the symmetry of the three petals. (Critics hat again)

The Ladies Smock is my third favourite for the same reason as the Trillium. The detail is there, but it is not sharp or harsh looking.

I cannot see EXIF data and would like to go to school on these. It looks like the DOF is very shallow in all of them, and I am assuming that is the reason for the soft look. For instance on the Ladies Smock the focus looks like it was on the front stamen of the centre left flower and focus falls off quite quickly from there.
I'm curious as to the camera settings and some tips on florals and when and why you choose the settings that you do.

Wendy

[carregwen]

You seem to be getting better at critiquing things, which is good. I find it useful to study shots in mags and newspapers to critique. It's good practice. Try it.

Hi Rob: glad to see more flowers
The magnolia is my favourite. It stands out so nicely from the background. The lighting is soft but still dramatic enough to make it special. If I put my critics hat on, there are a couple bright spots at the bottom (left and right, the centre one is OK) that I might clone out.

Yep, agree with that. f/6.3, ISO200, 1/800s, no flash

The Trillium is my second pick. It's a different view on the floral emblem of my province. I love the veining in the leaves and how it looks so detailed but still soft. I'm wondering on this one if it would be better if you cropped just a bit more off the bottom in order to keep the symmetry of the three petals. (Critics hat again)

Yes, agree there too. f/14, 1/80s, ISO200, ring-flash fired on manual mode. I was in a Ninfarium (hot house) and it was quite dark. The f/14 was a mistake.

The Ladies Smock is my third favourite for the same reason as the Trillium. The detail is there, but it is not sharp or harsh looking.

This stuff is growing everywhere now over here. Pretty though. f/5.6, 1/200s, ISO200, no flash

The Archanto was also shot in Ninfarium at f/2.8, ISO200, 1/60s with ring-flash. All shots taken with Sigma 105mm macro.

If you want to vary things, try shooting unusual angles, or flowers at different stages. I did this one yesterday of a dandellion about to flower.. I usually have a shallow DOF because I want to blur out messy detail in the background, and as in this shot it can produce a very nice bokeh. This was f/2.8, ISO200, 1/200s.