Mountain Laurel

I’ve spent the past few days in search of Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, which is an evergreen shrub in the heather family. Mountain Laurel grows in dense thickets within mountain forests, and likes to grow near water too. We have had a rainy spring this year, which must have made for a good year for mountain laurel. I was lucky enough to find several very good patches in the forest near the Quabbin Reservoir in Massachusetts. The flowers can be either white or pink, with pink being my favorite. Some of these bushes were 5 or 6 feet tall, and it was quite impressive to see in the wild. Each of the individual flowers is roughly one inch across in size.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Any critique or comments are appreciated

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

Canon 5D MKIV, Canon 24-70mm f2.8 lens, at 70mm, ISO 400, 1/30 sec at f16

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.

A lovely composition, Ed. The luminosity of the blossoms is just perfect against the green leaves. I love the shape of laurel blossoms as individuals, but you did a fine job of capturing the feel of the massed blooms.

Mountain Laurel are a favorite flower from my time in the Northeast, Ed. This is a great look at a very striking mass of blooms in their prime.

Your choice of a closeup displays the shape of each flower nicely. When in mass they are quite striking in contrast to the greens of the forest and your inclusion of the greens displays that. Just beginning to see the blooms here in western MA.

@Dennis_Plank @Mark_Seaver @Patricia_Brundage thank you all for your comments. I have some other images with closeups of just the pink blossoms, but what I really liked about this shot was the color contrast between the green leaves and the pink blossoms. I also love the shapes of the flowers that haven’t fully opened yet, to me they look like little stars.

Ed: What a great find and a fine capture. For me there is just a bit too much green which I would be tempted to crop away some. Maybe not fill the frame completely with the flowers but close. Still this is excellent as is and a delight to view, especially large. >=))>

Thanks for the comments Bill. Here is a rework that crops in tighter on the blossoms and reduces the amount of green leaves, I think it works well this way.

Ed,

Beautiful color combo here. I was thinking right along with Bill on some sort of crop to give the pink flowers the edge on space and importance. the green leaves are an important element, but I like them better in the supporting role.

The water dops are bonus! A lovely and delightful image.

Lon