The local park, where I go to get some exercise, has one wild azalea in full bloom. I’ve visited several times trying to get a reasonably isolated view of a full bloom along with both sunshine and very little wind. I’d call this view moderately successful. It’s a 10 shot stack to get most of the bloom sharp. I do see 4 or 5 other shrubs that are about to bloom, so I expect to return and see if I can get some other views, maybe with more separation between the bloom and the surroundings. (5D3, 180mm macro L, 1/400 s, f/9, iso 800, tripod)
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Hi Mark, well you can’t go wrong catching an azalea in bloom, wild or not. This is a really attractive photo of this bush; colors of white, pink, and green are very pleasing, along with all the sharp detail you worked for, including the anthers and tiny hairs. Composition is fine too…plenty of room for those flower fountains shooting out and happy to see the branches also. Separation not an issue for me…nothing distracts, but we’re always wishing for more. Thanks for sharing!
I think this came out very well, Mark. I certainly sympathize with the wind issue. We’ve had a lot lately and it’s tough to do a stack-lots of fixing after the stack. I see no artifacts here and I love the composition. Separation from the background looks fine.
Mark: We have a number of azaleas in our garden but I struggle to come up with comps I like. Usually the BG is way too busy, spent flowers, etc. This looks really good with the isolation from the bush and a fine BG. I also like that the blooms are in prime condition and the buds are icing on a very fine cake. Well done. >=))>
These can be so tricky to shoot, Mark, and I think you’ve done a great job here - capturing all the vitality of the flowers, which seem about to fly from their branches !
Beautiful photo of beautiful flowers. There is for me a feeling of relation and conversation for the many pistils and stamens interweaving. I love the photo Mark.
When I owned instead of renting there were wild azaleas in the woods behind the house. Brings back many happy memories. Great detail and composition. The only minor suggestion would be to clone out or use content aware to remove the bare branch coming in from the left. Personal preference only.