Edit 2 with blurred leaf in center at the bottom and focus stacking corrections.
Original image
Image Description
Bluebonnets and Texas baby blue eyes are two of the most iconic wildflowers in Texas. Like Bluebonnets, Texas baby blue eyes are also typically blue, but they can also be found in white or purple varieties. As any Texan knows, Bluebonnets are found in open fields, along roadsides, and in other disturbed areas. Texas baby blue eyes, on the other hand, are found in moist, well-drained, sandy soils. So, finding them side by side is always a special treat. Instead of going for the large field displays of Bluebonnets, I prefer to find them along other wildflowers. This particular find made me smile because I had wanted to photograph those two different flowers together.
The photo here is the result of twelve focus-stacked images I made using a tripod. I think I went a little overboard with the number of images to stack. Well, better safe than sorry. I wanted to make sure that the Bluebonnet and the Texas baby blue eyes flowers were in focus. The background was left blurred on purpose. Thanks to the clouds for providing me with an even source of light and some warmer tones on the right side. Although there was a bit of wind, shooting at 1/4000 seconds helped to capture the main subjects without blurriness. I did not have to wait long for the winds to calm down. [P.S.: When enlarging the first image, I did see some ghosts around some of the Texas baby blue eyes’ petals. I corrected that issue in the second edit.]
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
What inspired me to make this image was the striking combination of the two flowers and a bit of warm light in the background. I got the camera leveled with the Bluebonnet in order to bring out the size contrast with the Texas baby blue eyes. I am especially curious whether I should have blurred the center leaf in front of the Bluebonnet. That leaf was on the same plane as the Texas baby blue eyes flowers. I cannot decide whether it is distracting or not, especially since the leaves on the LRC are in the FG and not in focus. I have added a second edit with the blurred leaf in question and focus-stacking ghosting corrected. Please keep in mind that the intended use of this image is social media and other online media.
Technical Details
As mentioned before, the image here was focus stacked. I used a tripod for those 12 images. I stacked the images in PS and took the stacked image to Topaz Photo AI and completed all edits in LR. The EXIF is shown in the image below.
The other wildflower is a new one to me and I like the way you’ve framed the lupine with them. So many shades of blue to enjoy. The second version corrects many of the issues in the first and so a winner in my book. There’s a field of these not far from my house and I believe they are maintained to be a food source for the highly endangered Karner Blue butterfly. Other restoration efforts are ongoing around the state by official bodies, but I like that some random person just has a huge field of them. I like the OOF echo flowers behind - they’re just the right level of blurry to be at once identifiable, but not distracting. Beautifully done.
As for the ghosting in the focus stack process, it was just pure sloppiness on my part. I failed to enlarge the final photo to look for that anomaly.