Columbine

Following Mike Moats webinar on macro images, I decided to try his technique of increasing dof with aperture instead of focus stacking. It was quite windy, and I had to hand hold the camera. I reduced digital noise with LR Classic. Because of the noise, the image may be best viewed small. Thanks for weighing in on this image.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Any

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Any

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If the background has been replaced, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

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After posting this I noticed the need to crop the light spot in the ULC. Thanks

Having done both a lot of tiny aperture and multi-shot stacks, I’m here to say that both methods have benefits and drawbacks. What’s important is to understand that and use what’s appropriate for what you’re trying to do and what fits your vision. This is a good look at these Columbine. I like how you make it clear that there’s a group of them even as you focus on the two main blooms. The noise level does seem fairly high, in the large views, but it also looks like there may have been a bit of motion during the shot.

Mark, Thanks for your response. Yes, these blooms were moving in the wind. I was able to capture them by hand holding the camera and panning into the wind. I know the noise level is high. I guess this is the drawback. I got the composition as I visioned it. I shoot in manual mode and underexposed the image some as I was concentrating on the capture over the technical detail, also the cause for the noise. I appreciate your consensus that it works.

An effective look at this group of Columbine blossoms, Larry, and with multiple blooms moving in the wind, focus stacking would have been an impossibility (I’ve gotten some wild images trying that). I like the spotlighting you’re getting in these. My initial reaction was that the color was a bit off from the reds I’m used to , but then I remembered that there are about a bazillion cultivars out there and plenty of regional variation in the natives. A nice composition.

Thanks, Dennis. I posted this to see what y’alls perception would be. Your and @Mark_Seaver’s responses help a lot.

Larry I like the image, you had to manage a difficult situation. I use normally narrow aperture for DOF without big problems. In this case the only inconvenience can be the background that, with a larger aperture, would have been more pleasant.

Thanks for viewing this image and for your reply, @Giuseppe_Guadagno. I understand about the aperture and how it effects the bokeh. In this case, I like the background as it is, for it brings in the presence of other flowers without their becoming distractions. Thanks again.

Larry: I’ve been away from the gallery for a couple weeks so my apologies for the tardy reply. I like your main subjects and the light on them especially. My inclination would be to crop tighter to eliminate the partial bloom in the ULC and burn down some of the relatively hot spots in the BG. I think the capture looks good and a fine compromise with the challenges of single capture. Nicely done.>=))>

Thanks for your input and your rework of the image. I like what you have done here. I actually burned down a lot of the rogue highlights, but you have treated the area better. Did you do this in LR or in PS or with luminosity masks? I used LR classic, mostly the exposure slider in local adjustments. I actually left the other flowers in to suggest the presence of the group of blooms not in the image. What I see is that there are at least a couple of ways to present the image. I do like your crop. Thanks again.