Project 52 by Frank Miller

Excellent advise Frank.

My usual technique is to wait at the same spot until there is a small period of time in which the crowded museum turns into a lovely and lonely place. This may take several minutes of course, sometimes long enough for my wife to find a place where we can have some lunch or dinner ;)

With your approach I'm sure you can move on quickly.

Toño

Week 13: The Kitchen Coleus

Flowers and their blossoms are, perhaps, one of the most common subjects for budding photography enthusiasts so for this week’s project I’ve been looking for unusual ways to photograph flowering plants.

There have been some really great flower images posted recently using a variety of lighting setups, but as I haven’t started exploring the mysteries of artificial lighting as yet, the majority of my images are still being shot with natural light. This week’s image is no exception. The subject is resting comfortably in the window of my young lady’s Kitchen domain.

At this time of year, there is a 6" high flower stalk on the Coleus plant. I took several shots from different angles but they all looked way too ‘ordinary’. For a different approach, I decided to photograph the plant straight down from above. As a result, all of the little blue flowers are clustered around the stalk and the stalk becomes a starburst of colour and pattern not usually noticed.

In trying to identify the name of this flower, I was able to locate hundreds of images of the different species of Coleus and the closest ones I could locate that look similar to this one were called Hit and Run, Pistachio Nightmare, and Rabbers Delight, none of which was a complete match.

http://i42.tinypic.com/1gk4mv.jpg

Shot at ISO 100, F/8, 1/6 sec, 82mm (FFE) with the Nikon D3100 and 18-55mm kit lens. Processed as a 7 image focus stack using Zerene Stacker.

What a stunning combination of colours. Bold enough to catch your attention without being too in your face. And of course as always, fantastic detail.

I've just written, "That, I think, is exactly what colour photography should be about - Colour. The image is so fresh and vibrant. Lovely.", in another thread. I could just as easily have written it here first.

Thank you Malcolm and Donald! It is nice to be appreciated!

By the way, I couldn't stand the embarrassment any longer (post # 98) and added the missing shadow to the last image in post # 96.

Hi Frank, I like the composition with the flower stalk in the centre with the other colours radiating out, wonderful colours and detail, would enhance any kitchen or garden

Hi Frank. Amazing shot and subject. I can't belive those kind of flowers exist, the colors and texture seem like a posterized image. I need to find one of those plants.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vicente

Hi Frank. Amazing shot and subject. I can't belive those kind of flowers exist, the colors and texture seem like a posterized image. I need to find one of those plants.

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Hi Vicente! Here is a link to hundreds of varieties of Coleus along with their pictures. I would think that they shouldn't be too hard to locate.

http://www.glasshouseworks.com/gallery2.html

For those who were interested, this is what the Colius looks like from a more conventional (boring) angle.

For the shot above, I gave up on trying to use artificial lighting and just put the pot on the window sill! Some day I'll learn to use lighting but for now...

http://i41.tinypic.com/j9vf49.jpg

I don't think I've ever seen anything that comfortable in our salad bowls here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FrankMi

For those who were interested, this is what the Colius looks like from a more conventional (boring) angle.

For the shot above, I gave up on trying to use artificial lighting and just put the pot on the window sill! Some day I'll learn to use lighting but for now...

http://i41.tinypic.com/j9vf49.jpg

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I have some coleus growing kinda wild in my yard in a bed of wildflowers - but not nearly as colourful.
And I never saw flowers on amy of them! :mad:
As always, I really enjoy looking at your photos.

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Originally Posted by Kris V

And I never saw flowers on amy of them!

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Thank you Kris (appreciate, appreciate!). I'm still trying to learn how to shoot flowers and currently working on a 'set' of blossom images for the next P52.

My wife tells me that the Colius doesn't usually flower for several years so perhaps soon?

Frank, beautiful photo. I want to learn to photograph plants. Watch out, I'll be after you for advice.

Chuck

Whant an incredible plant man. It's almost unreal. Also the galery its amazing. Thank you very much. =)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FrankMi

For those who were interested, this is what the Colius looks like from a more conventional (boring) angle.

For the shot above, I gave up on trying to use artificial lighting and just put the pot on the window sill! Some day I'll learn to use lighting but for now...

http://i41.tinypic.com/j9vf49.jpg

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by FrankMi

Week 13: The Kitchen Coleus

Flowers and their blossoms are, perhaps, one of the most common subjects for budding photography enthusiasts so for this week’s project I’ve been looking for unusual ways to photograph flowering plants.

There have been some really great flower images posted recently using a variety of lighting setups, but as I haven’t started exploring the mysteries of artificial lighting as yet, the majority of my images are still being shot with natural light. This week’s image is no exception. The subject is resting comfortably in the window of my young lady’s Kitchen domain.

At this time of year, there is a 6" high flower stalk on the Coleus plant. I took several shots from different angles but they all looked way too ‘ordinary’. For a different approach, I decided to photograph the plant straight down from above. As a result, all of the little blue flowers are clustered around the stalk and the stalk becomes a starburst of colour and pattern not usually noticed.

In trying to identify the name of this flower, I was able to locate hundreds of images of the different species of Coleus and the closest ones I could locate that look similar to this one were called Hit and Run, Pistachio Nightmare, and Rabbers Delight, none of which was a complete match.

http://i42.tinypic.com/1gk4mv.jpg

Shot at ISO 100, F/8, 1/6 sec, 82mm (FFE) with the Nikon D3100 and 18-55mm kit lens. Processed as a 7 image focus stack using Zerene Stacker.

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How did you get these colours Frank, PP or lighting? Very nice effect overall, reminds me of what I get if I play with the white balance.

Week 14: – Progressive Exposure

My goal for this week is to be able to see a flower. Not just acknowledge that it exists, to really ‘SEE’ it and drink in all its beauty.

For this exercise I choose an Ornamental Cherry Tree that is in the process of blossoming in our front yard. Given that it was devastated two years ago by a vicious attack of Japanese Beetles and lost a number of limbs as a result, it’s a wonder that it is still alive. What’s more surprising is that this it is the first year that there has been an abundance of flowers.

We see the blossoms at four stages in this exercise from when they first appear on the branch until they are fully opened. At each stage along the way, there are surprises that I wasn’t expecting but that’s the whole reason for the exercise!

So the challenge for you is to find (SEE) some of these items in the images.

1. Tiny red ball tips along the edges of some of the new leaves.
2. Red berries at the base of some of the leaves.
3. How soon after a bud opens do the blossoms appear?
4. How soon after the blossom starts to open does the pistil appear?

The Bud Opens:

http://i40.tinypic.com/2sahy4l.jpg

The Blossom Grows:

http://i40.tinypic.com/k3xnc.jpg

And Starts to Expand:

http://i40.tinypic.com/20qy4x.jpg

Until it Reaches Maturity:

http://i39.tinypic.com/fy2v0y.jpg

So! You looked. Hopefully you SAW them four times. OK then, without looking back, how many blossoms did each bud produce?

Did you find out anything else about the Ornamental Cherry Blossoms that you were not expecting?

If you are having difficulty locating the answers, try opening the images in the Lightbox and clicking the icon to expand the image to full size.

Hope you enjoyed viewing the set as much as I did bringing them to you!

I love the colours Frank, that blossom with the blue behind. I have a few of these in my own garden and know that it is just a short time before the blossom disappears again. In terms of composition I like the first and last best. In the other two there is a lot going on in the background.
Nice series.

Thank you for viewing and commenting, Peter!

I thought of selectively bluring the backgrounds but hoped that the natural bokeh would be sufficient. In image #3 there is a lot going on in the foreground as well which gives me some concern, but where to draw the line? Perhaps it would be better to simply use another image for the 'medium' blossoms. I am away at the moment but I'll look into providing more separation between the subject and the high contrast backgrounds in the 2nd and 3rd images when I return.

Thank you for your feedback!

I think you have done a great job of making the subject tack sharp. I like the way the background is not distracting at all.

Nice series Frank - I have to admit that I forgot the questions as I looked at the photos so I had to go back and look for the answers again.

I don't mind seeing all the business in the second and third photo as I was viewing the selection as a series of photos that belonged together to tell a story. The main things I noticed is that the exposure from the first to the last photos are different, slightly in some cases and probably to do with the different times the photos were taken but I think as a series it would be good if they were closer aligned in exposure.