This wildflower was photographed 2/4/21 in southeast Washington. I also photographed another example of a Grass Widow on 1/14/21, in the eastern Columbia River Gorge, 10 miles east of Hood River.
I appreciate any comments
Is this a composite: No
Canon R5, 24-105mm, f/16, 1/160 sec, iso 2000, hand held, black cloth background
Hi Don, really pretty flowers. I’ve seen that before where you put a backdrop behind some flowers in a field to make it look like a studio shot. Without having been there I would really like to see the surroundings! And were there more flowers around this bunch? It’s just my opinion, but I kind of like the more natural look anyway. Nice job, holding a cloth with one hand and camera with the other! 
The comp looks good andf the flowers have some pop against the black BG. The leaves seem to be more blue green than green. You may want to adjust the hue and saturation of the leaves if you think that the leaves appeared more green to you in the field than from your photo. Otherwise, flowers are tack sharp and I like the comp…Jim
The flowers stand out nicely against the complementary green color of the leaves and complete black BG. Bluish tone makes this photo sharp and cool. I like the image.
Don: Looks like a crocus variety. What is the size? Really good find and a fine capture. I like your studio effect but would also be curious to see the natural surroundings just to show how the dark BG puts all the emphasis on the flowers. Top notch shot. >=))>
Thank you for your comments. The Grass Widow, Olsymium douglasii syn. Sisyrinchium douglasii is in the Iris (Iridaceae) family. It is named after David Douglas, a fascinating Scottish botanist who was active in the early 19th century in the western United States, traveling mostly on foot. Jack Nisbet wrote an interesting biography, “The Collector, David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest.”
My intention is for my wildflower photographs to look like studio portraits. In my mind, that highlights the beauty of the flower. I tell my students there are three common errors that photographers of all sorts make: 1. A distracting background, 2. A distracting background and 3. You guessed it, a distracting background. I enjoy finding wildflowers that have backgrounds that compliment the subject, but that is rare because western wildflowers are usually tiny. There are lots of ways to eliminate distractions, for example, a long lens with a shallow depth of field. Cloth or cards are just one approach.
The blue cast is because I had to shade it as I was caught out without my diffuser.
Beautiful flowers stand out against dark background. Agree with Jim on bluish cast. I like the crisp focus on all 3 flowers. Dof is perfect.
Very well done presentation of this wildflower. The dark background does a great job of making the greens and purples stand out. Eliminating a busy background while photographing in the field is an admirable goal.
