Native to southeastern & central US, Bradbury’s bee balm has large, showy flowers. It is often used as a cultivated flower outside of the native range.
I made this image at Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh.
Specific Feedback Requested:
Nothing specific, but the graphic presentation is always welcome.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
DSLR, 100mm macro, f22, flash behind (lightbox), fill flash at the lens, and left. In situ (outdoor garden).
Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)
No
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Another wow! The detail is stunning and the lighter areas on the petals stand out so well against the white BG! I love the subdued barely-greens.
I tend to like roomy margins, so elements don’ feel too constrained by the frame edges. The placement of the fading on the stem feels perfect to me, and the small leaf tip dropping below that level feels OK, but I long for just a bit more room on the left and top.
Another gorgeous entry in this series. I’m familiar with the run-of-the-mill wild beebalm - we have scads of it here, but not this variety so thanks for sharing this beauty.
I think you’ve reached the point where some focus stacking would benefit you with flowers this deep and wide. I LOVE the underside of the bracts at the base of the blossom. They’re fuzzy and so different in shape that I want more detail. Focus bracketing and / or focus blending would help bring that in. You’re controlling your environment enough and using a small enough aperture that it could be done without much difficulty. Just a thought!
Wow, @paul_g_wiegman . This is drop dead gorgeous. I’ve not seen this before. The colors, patterns, and shapes are just beautiful. I like how it is isolated as a single bud/flower, with nothing else to detract. This should be in a scientific journal (along with your entire series!). Bravo!
@Diane_Miller Thanks for the exaltations. I appreciate your critiques very much. I did get a chuckle from your quote:
My original images are designed to fit in specifically sized frames. When I post here, I pick one of the final versions I like, which I post.
However, while I was preparing this for NPN, I stopped and thought, how much more room would Diane like to see? This image got more canvas at the top and right. Well, I got one side right Again, thanks.
@johnwayne Thank you. You’ve posted beautiful images of this plant, so I especially value your comments.
@Kris_Smith I would like to see this “in the wild.” It isn’t native to western PA. Although this was taken at a botanical garden, it was on the roof of a building and wouldn’t standstill.
It may seem odd to be on the roof. The building is a certified green building, and the roof is a garden that has been planted to wildflowers. The horticultural staff frowns on me, picking anything to take into the studio. I do focus stack at times, most often when I have plants in the studio.
@Mark_Muller Thank you, Mark. The images haven’t been in a journal but have been in other publications.
Art directors appreciate the pure white background. The plant can be “cut” from the canvas in PhotoShop by drawing a simple line generally around the image. There’s no need to do fine “lasso” work. When pasted to a copy page, there’s no border, so the text can be shaped to fit the edges on the illustration rather than a straight line.
I want to find a writer to create copy/poetry for each species and do a book. I haven’t found anybody yet.
Needing to fit certain aspect ratios is a constraint. My thinking is that I see the very lovely faded edge of the stem and for me that defines a kind of border or frame width that the rest of the elements should be constrained by, with occasional exceptions. It’s a very small nit for the gorgeous images you do.
@Diane_Miller You raise and interesting context of placing a single element in a the constraint of a frame. I’ve centered the image except in cases where it demands a 1:1, and my frames are rectangular Then the image goes to the upper 1/3 and the lower is blank.
When I was adjusting the bee balm to conform to the “Miller Format” I found some exciting placements where the image was place in the lower third, but with even more canvas to the right. The image was also tilted more to the right and had the feeling. It was a pleasing placement.
I grapple with vast amounts of empty space, but it’s beginning to grow to acceptance.
You’re not nit picking, but have a fine eye for the graphic qualities of an image.
That’s an intriguing reflection, thank you. It gives me more to consider while making the images and the placement in the frame, which Diane has added.
I’m glad to hear from others, like yourself, here on NPN.
My choice of crops and placement in the frame is purely by some sort of instinct, probably about as trustworthy as ESP. I rely more on a sense of balancing visual weight than on placing interesting elements at a point of thirds or by the golden mean or others, but I do find it interesting to scroll through the overlays in the LR crop frame with the “O” key and once in a while I’ll be influenced by them. And with some subjects, centering is very powerful. Real or implied lines are also a consideration.
It is a natural talent, and it is very trustworthy. It’s just something you know looks “right”. Sometimes the perfectly centered object looks right, and other object need to be placed elsewhere. You’re fortunate to have the talent.
Again, thanks.