Amaryllis for Marie

[FrankMi]

Marie has been such an inspiration for me to get back to shooting flowers, particularly Amaryllis, that this first one is for her enjoyment.

This is from the second stalk of a Flaming Peacock. This stalk only had two blossoms and they aren't as sweet as the first stalk that had four very robust blossoms. I doubt I can compete with Marie's skill in bringing out the best in these but I'll give it a shot!



For you kind consideration....

I took several shots but this was the first one I processed and was excited to post it.

[IzzieK]

Whaaaat was that expression at the end of your post? This is a very good image for an avionic engineer! I love the colour not only of the flower but also of the PP and background. I think black goes well with most flowers..

[Brownbear]

A truly beautiful image, and I'm sure Marie will be delighted! Gorgeous colour and detail.

[Stagecoach]

Very good Frank and a nice specimen well framed. One area that struck me with Marie's was that the stems of which we would tend to ignore made such an impact within the image, it may be worth exploring that as well.

Grahame

[FrankMi]

Hi Izzie and thank you! I like the black background when the actual background doesn't complement the blossom, the kitchen in this case, and particularly when the blossom is predominantly white. The kitchen is actually in the background in this image, but a trick that Marie showed us was to underexpose the background which is what I've done here.

Thank you Christina! I thought I'd take a break from playing with mountain scenes and catch up on other types of photography as it seems my project is winding down.

I agree Grahame, I did include the single stem in this image but was surprised at how it came out. I had to go back and make sure that it was just the stem and not one of the leaves as well because the stems are usually more monochrome in appearance.

I also decided to zoom in a bit to view the detail of the blossom so I rotated the Amaryllis slightly and tried for more of a close-up of the pistil and stamen structure. I particularly likes the fact that this was the first double blossom Amaryllis we've had.

To give a sense of scale, the blossom is about 5" across and sits on a stalk that holds the blossom 28" above the flower's bulb.



Comments and critiques welcomed as always!

[Wavelength]

So you stepped down from the snowy mountain tops to the valley of flowers

A very exquisite pair of flower images
...and i am always an admirer of "blackgrounds" for floral images

[Suzan J]

Hello Frank: These are very lovely shots of a beautiful flower. I have heard of this type of flower before, but have never been brave enough to try to plant one. I don't think they do too well in our climate. Was this specimen from your garden?

[FrankMi]

Thank you Nandakumar. Your comments are always appreciated.

[FrankMi]

Hello Frank: These are very lovely shots of a beautiful flower. I have heard of this type of flower before, but have never been brave enough to try to plant one. I don't think they do too well in our climate. Was this specimen from your garden?

Hi Suzan, thank you for the feedback!

I normally grow these inside although in our climate they would survive outdoors. We have had them when we lived in Canada as indoor plants and if you look at Marie's stable of Amaryllis, you see how she does with them.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shots Frank They look sharp and clear, did you do focus stacking ?

[FrankMi]

Very nice shots Frank They look sharp and clear, did you do focus stacking ?

Hi Binnur, yes, always with flowers. I love to see all of the detail that I can see when I look at the actual blossom. I'm not fond of out-of-focus for this type of image unless bokeh is appropriate.

These were a quick "Auto-Align/Auto-Blend" in Photoshop CS5 so I didn't do any focus "polishing" of the final image. I took a number of different views of this Amaryllis and when I'm done reviewing them all, I'll pick a favorite and do the fussy post-processing bit. But for now, these are good enough for basic feedback and critique.

[chauncey]

They look pretty good for a quick & dirty job...way to go!

FWIW...since starting to do poesy's, I'm trying to emulate this lady...http://www.kathleenclemonsphotograph.../9cf2/flowers/

[FrankMi]

They look pretty good for a quick & dirty job...way to go!

FWIW...since starting to do poesy's, I'm trying to emulate this lady...http://www.kathleenclemonsphotograph.../9cf2/flowers/

Nice link Chauncey! Kathleen does a lot with close-ups, soft focus, and exquisite control over pastel coloring. Well worth emulating I'd say! Certainly a style worth shooting for! Thank you for sharing the link. Now I've got to expand my horizons again!

[IzzieK]

Can you please explain Marie's way for background. I cannot see even a sliver of any kitchen. Is it a merge. Or not?

[FrankMi]

Can you please explain Marie's way for background. I cannot see even a sliver of any kitchen. Is it a merge. Or not?

LOL! OK, Some call it a BLACKground. I believe that Marie shoots near a window to get light on the flower but shoots towards a dark room in the house. In my case that would be the kitchen. If the flower is sufficiently lighted by the window, the room behind it will be so dark as to look black.

I take it that you didn't notice my lovely kitchen in the blackground behind the flower blossom.

My next thought was to try a square crop with this blossom. For your viewing and dart throwing entertainment...

[IzzieK]

OK...Frank, got ya. Perhaps in this last one you can tidy up a little on the top right hand side your background will be all black...just a suggestion...

[FrankMi]

OK...Frank, got ya. Perhaps in this last one you can tidy up a little on the top right hand side your background will be all black...just a suggestion...

Ah, you must have seen Charlie Chaplin lurking there! Dang, I was trying to keep that a secret, but then, you have sharp eyes so there is no keeping secrets with you looking!

[FrankMi]

Originally I took 10 shots, trying different compositions and viewpoints. I have now processed all 10 and the young lady I married has selected # 5 as her favorite. So, for the last one to post in this series, here is the one she selected.

I call this image "The Shy One". Now that I've looked them all over, and seen what Kathleen Clemons has done in Chauncey's link from Post #12 above, I'm not sure that I am so much in favor of the detailed, but somewhat harsh appearance that I have in these images. Perhaps I need to take a different approach in the shooting and post processing to give these a softer look?



Your thoughts and suggestions?

Please feel free to make any changes you feel are appropriate and repost, along with the steps you took to achieve your results so that we all can learn from your viewpoint.

[dje]

Well Frank, I have to agree with your young lady ! I do like all your shots though. I lack the skill or patience for this sort of photography so am unable to provde learned comment. I would stick with sharpness in this case but I guess that is just a matter of personal taste.

Dave

[Brownbear]

My favourites are #3 and #4... With #4 being the definite favourite because of the composition and the lovely green colours seen in the flower petals - especially beautiful!

No changes and even if I could think of any I've had enough post processing exercises to last me for months.