We improve wth practice

[pecunium]

Last week I commented that I'd not had much luck taking photos of some kinds of flowers (specfically Birds of Paradise/Strelitzia (which happens to be pollenated by birds, which is why they have such a thick, and gooey, nectar, but I digress).

So I've done a bit more work on them (incorporating some of the techniques suggested). I also took a stab at Statice/Limonum (which I think of as "crepe flowers" because of how the wrinkled petals make me think of crepe paper, even though they are much stiffer).

I've not had much luck with them either, because they are so busy, and the self-same purity of color which draws the eye, seems bland when I try to take a picture.

Hard at Work


I don't know if I'd have tried this without the bee. The pattern of the blossoms (and the interesting nature of them, papery white-bits which are fleeting, and the purple which seems to last forever), is interesting, but I can't seem to make it arresting.


Ghost


This one is interesting because it was affected by the weather. The exposure was for 1/125th That's usually fine for flowers. The day, however, was windy, and while the shutter was open the flower bobbed. If you look at it closely you can just see it above the projection. It's also got some Georgia O'Keefe like aspects.


Headress


This one is a better treatment of a subject I've really struggled with; shooting these blooms in close up. They are fascinating, but I've been missing some essential aspect of them, and they come out either busy, or dull.

Headress B&W


A bit of variation, so the shape , and texture, can be more evident than the colors.

There are also a number of photos of spiders, and a few more flowers, of a sort I've never had trouble getting decent shots of.

Comments

[robertainnc.livejournal.com]

I am particularly partial to your photographs of birds of paradise, I must say. Absolutely stunning.