Mountain Ladys Slipper in the forest

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Any

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Any

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

My artistic intent was to show the full blossom of the Mountain Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium montanum) as its often more deep than a single frame can capture with depth of field from the Laowa 100mm macro lens. I stacked 14 images to achieve the depth of focus I desired with out giving to much detail to the background trying to not offer a distraction to the eye. I made the choice of F11 @ 1/200 sec ISO 800 to help with subject movement, Spot metering helped make decision for exposure from tricky backlighting. Morning light was controlled through three scrims as well as function as wind break. A single plamp aided in stabilizing the plants stem allowing for more accurately focusing with minimal subject movement. I chose to include the leaf in lower right corner to anchor the flower into the frame. Camera was mounted on a Marshal wedge and RRS focusing rail aided in focus.

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1 Like

Hi Michael. It’s a pleasure to see lady slippers especially in the wild. Your calculated process to capture this beauty certainly worked well. I would like to see a bit more room on top, right and left sides of the frame to balance the large space given to the stem. Personal preference only… it works as is.

Excellent image, Michael and thanks for the thorough description of the shooting process, something we don’t get as often as I’d like. I like the tight framing here, though I find myself wishing for just a bit more room on our left. On my monitor, it looks as if there are a couple of areas at the base of the terminal leaf and near the center of the flower that are hot enough to start losing detail-you might want to play with bringing them down a bit.

A little more space will help the shot. You can pull down the highlights especially in the pouch to emphasize the details…Jim

A beautiful photo of a beautiful flower Michael. You already received good suggestion. I try to contribute: think about cutting the frame of two fingers in the bottom. Anyway I love the photo.

Very nice overview of a beautiful flower. I think a diffuser would be a big help in softening the harsh light. Also, a little darkening of the background would help bring the orchid to the forefront.