Texas seems to take much pride in their unique Bluebonnets (yes, along with a lot of other things).
They only bloom for a couple of weeks this time of year. I do realize that lupines are fairly common throughout the US, however, I have heard Bluebonnets will only grow in Texas.
Since they have been photographed beyond bearable, I chose a slightly different approach.
This is a composite made up of two images. The backdrop is an ICM of a field of Bluebonnets and the foreground Bluebonnet is a close up. At this point in their season, since they are fading fast so my idea was to capture their demise.
Does this work? Is it too busy? Too much? Other thoughts, comments and suggestions welcome.
Processed in ACR & PS include; burning of highlights, cloning, brightness/contrast on background, clarity on foreground.
Nikon D7200, background: f/36, 0.3sec., iso100, @105mm, handheld
foreground: f/8, 1/80sec., iso100, @145mm, handheld
Is this a composite? Yes
Linda, since I’m very much a “show what is there” person, I think the single flower in the lower left looks good. The ICM seems contrived to me but might work well for others. That a built in part of trying “artistic” approaches. I’ll also admit that coming up with “something new” when a million others have photographed the same scene is a huge challenge, that often motivates me when I’m in Yellowstone. Is it possible to use your clean flower and a vertical of the ICM or having the background be uniformly dark? Either of those may create a different feeling.
@linda_mellor I find this oddly disconcerting but I like it. I like @Mark_Seaver ’s idea of trying a vertical with the ICM image. With the light on the in focus image, I feel like my eyes only want to stay there or travel up with the motion and not make use of the rest of the image as much, if that makes sense. Very creative vision, which is something I lack for sure.
I like the detail you got in the single flower and would like to see it more prominent in the image. Maybe crop off the right half and/or make it larger against the BG. I like the idea!
I’d been thinking I was clever calling these Lupinus texus, and then found they are actually Lupinus texensis, so I guess they are a unique genus. The prettiest ones I see are much larger and come in several colors, and are found along roadsides where construction has recently been finished by the California Department of Transportation, so I’ve been calling them Lupinus caltransia.
Thanks, @Mark_Seaver , @karlag and @Diane_Miller for taking the time to comment. Based on your thoughts, I’ve re-posted a completely different version. May have gone a little to crazy with the “artistic” interpretation, but what the heck. And @Diane_Miller, I didn’t realize lupines had that many varieties, thanks for the info. Thanks again.
I like the story of showing the flower and its demise in one image. I wondered if the ICM flowers were too vibrant to represent demise, so I desaturated them and lightened them to make them a bit more like ghosts. Also flipped it horizontal, which puts the flower in a stronger position, rather than the “demise” taking up the dominant right side.
