The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Believe it or not, most of these are action shots. Michigan lily (aka Turk’s cap lily) is a very tall plant and except for the one looking down onto the back, they are all at eye level or above (and I’m 5’8") and in very breezy conditions. My friend Angie and I despaired that we’d ever get any shots at all since they basically never stood still. But they were so gorgeous and the light was pretty good so we persisted. Lo and behold, I have four that don’t suck. The backgrounds were tough to manage, too, but I think they’re ok. I was very thankful for focus peaking!
The leaves grow in discrete layers like that; ringing the stem in orderly stacks until it branches off for the flowers. The petals bend backward and the whole flower faces the ground. They are lovely though and only the second time I’ve seen and photographed them.
Specific Feedback
I wish that both of the trios had better separation, but these plants literally move a foot or more back and forth as the breeze takes them, so when they got kind of still, I shot. And to get the shutter speed up I shot wide open and that seemed to work, too. So thoughts about composition, field technique and processing ideas are welcome. They really are that orange.
Technical Details
Handheld with the camera going in a million directions to find the right compositions and viewpoints. Most of the exposures went like this -
Highlight-weighted metering
Lr for basically everything except for a couple of bits of distraction removal on one or two. The denoise AI action for all and some sharpening and massaging of tonalities. Nothing too major. Crops where suited.
I love this flower - I think we have a similar one about to flower here. I like all your shots, but my favourite is the last one, for the softer BG, the composition and the way you caught the focus. The pollen is highly toxic to cats, by the way!
Thanks @Mike_Friel - that last shot was the one I processed first - was amazed I got it at all considering the breeze. Interesting about the pollen, I’d never heard of that before. If you get pictures of the ones that bloom in Korea, do post!
Ooooohhh – these are gorgeous!! I love the natural DOF here. Stacking is wonderful but so is shallow DOF. A breeze is so frustrating but you made it work for you here. I love all of them, but the light is just awesome in #2 – like little spotlights perfectly aimed. I wonder about toning down the leaves, though.
Sometimes I’ve managed to find a stake and driven it in the ground and tied up a tall stem to hold it a little better. I now carry a lightweight stake and some string in my macro bag, along with a Plamp.
I need to get down to our local botanical garden that specializes in Asian plants. It’s been too hot to think about it, but will be better this week. (Fortunately we’re on the edge of the heat, and it cools off beautifully at night.)
Thanks @Diane_Miller & @Shirley_Freeman - I was relieved when I saw them in Lr. They are native plants, luckily, and so I hope to see them again one day. Which leaves do you mean Diane? Interesting idea for holding things steady although I can’t see myself doing it. Too much to lug already!!
The leaves reflecting light at the base of the stems. A similar set in #1 without light reflecting is less eye-catching. Wouldn’t be easy to match it but maybe worth a try to tone it down? Maybe the same for the leaves at the base of the frame. The light on those lilies is drop-dead gorgeous. Ummm – lickable!
Very nice! I like all of these but the light on the flower in the second image is so nice! I’ve never seen lilies like these and I’d be thrilled to run into them someday.
