Floral macros

[Del K]

Taking advice to use RAW and get in closer, here is a study for your consideration. All taken in Clemson University President's Park, which is full of blooming azaleas, rhododendron, and dogwood. These are compressed jpg for quicker loading. First, sort of a standard photo with nothing special done, using program mode, ISO50.
http://www.fototime.com/C288D9BDD7D9F2B/standard.jpg
Moving in closer, the next is in program and macro mode and Tiffen 812 filter. These blooms are at the bottom left in the previous picture.
http://www.fototime.com/F5D7043AC63A6DB/standard.jpg
I wanted to blur out some of the background, so I added a 0.6ND filter to allow shooting at f/2.8; this is a little less than half the frame, the bloom on the right in the previous picture. A potential problem here is the amount of white-on-white. The upper right of the bloom would have the background blend right into the foreground if some in-camera control is not exercised, such as a ND to reduce depth of field.
http://www.fototime.com/062B5D9C0FE33C9/standard.jpg
Occasionally, we get an ordinary picture. The one below was back in program and macro mode with the 812, but the full shade resulted in a sort of flat tone. Instead of giving it a lot of PSP work as a photograph, I posterized it. Don't know how some of the purists might feel about posterizing. I don't do it routinely, but in this case, I think it made an interesting object out of an ordinary one.
http://www.fototime.com/51D397330683F8D/standard.jpg

Comments appreciated.

[moonstone]

Nice picture Del.

Here are some photos (http://www.zing.com/album/?id=4292766861) that I have taken with my G1. Comments appreciated.


-Malcolm

[Del K]

Malcolm,

I like the colors, in both the petals and the greens in the foliage. If you are looking for suggestions, I have two:
1. I find the white background kind of stark. It does not distract, but some color in the background, for all but specialized shots, is usually a good idea.
2. The out of focus areas on the shot of the whole plant and the pot could be brought into focus. When the subject is a single or composite item with other stuff behind it, especially in macro shots, this is good. However, it appears that the whole plant is the subject, and so I would expect it all to be in focus. Might be difficult, not knowing your shooting conditions. You could try a shorter focal length, if possible. Or lower speed and smaller aperture.

[moonstone]

Del,

Thanks for your suggestions :)

I agree with both your points. I used manual focus since autofocus did not seem to work well at close distance. However, I always find that trying to judge focus using the LCD is a difficult task.

-Malcolm