California Poppies

[Teton Chuck]

[Designer]

Hi Chuck. Nice subject! Could you move the crop down some? I find the dark joint between rocks just above the center of the plant to be distracting, and it would give us a sense of where the plant originates from. You would still have enough of the rock on the left to give it context, and while cropping, why not bring in both sides a little as well?

Apparently shot on an overcast day. Do you have a way to add light when you are out on such a day? A reflector might have added just enough light to make the flowers really pop.

[Nicola]

Hi Chuck. Nice subject! Could you move the crop down some? I find the dark joint between rocks just above the center of the plant to be distracting, and it would give us a sense of where the plant originates from. You would still have enough of the rock on the left to give it context, and while cropping, why not bring in both sides a little as well?

Apparently shot on an overcast day. Do you have a way to add light when you are out on such a day? A reflector might have added just enough light to make the flowers really pop.

I agree with Jim,
I'm not sure, but the few flowers in the extreme foreground seem a bit out of focus?
anyway, nice subject, good work
cheers
Nicola

[Teton Chuck]

Jim and Nicola, thank you for the suggestions. I did try to crop some, but I am not confident that it is enough (following photo). As for the focus, It was out on an overcast day with no tripod. This photo was taken, hand held, at 1/30 sec. I shake anyway, so it was not a good situation. Finally, I am just beginning to try to take photos of plants. Obviously have a lot to learn. Your input is very helpful and much appreciated.

cheers, chuck

[Loose Canon]

Hi Chuck!

Would you consider the possibility that there might be a color cast?

It could also just be me looking through my high temperature glasses!

[Teton Chuck]

Terry, I would consider almost anything. I appreciate the question, don't know the answer. But it should help me as I go after wild flowers later this spring.

Here is another shot at this. Or maybe I don't know what a color cast is.

Thank you,
chuck

[Loose Canon]

Then would you consider the possibility that you must have some idea of what a color cast is because you have helped it?

Don't know what you did, but it looks better, Chuck.

As an aside?

I envy you the wildflower season out west!

[Teton Chuck]

Terry, thank you. Just for the record, I live in Jackson Hole, WY. It is snowing here today, but our trees will have leaves by the third week of May. I was just visiting my son in San Francisco. They have the flowers.

Cheers, Chuck

[jprzybyla]

Hi Chuck,

I like your first photo better than the tighter crop. There is no color cast but what has happened is that the red/orange color of the poppies has blown out. When taking pictures of flowers with the colors red, yellow and white or colors close to those colors you have to watch your exposure very carefully. If you shoot with a camera that you can see on the monitor the luminance, red, green, and blue histograms use that and watch the right hand side for the luminance channel and the red channel blowing out (over-exposing). Also is you can set your camera to show when the highlights blow out by blinking black, that also helps. When I shoot flowers in bright sunlight sometimes I have to adust the EV to -1.0 and sometimes - 2.0 to get the flowers to expose properly. The same thing happens when photgraphing white birds, and some butterflies.

[Teton Chuck]

Joe, thank you. This is really helpful. I may even buy some red flowers for my wife so I can practice. Really.

I hope to have some decent photos to put up my mid summer.

Cheers, Chuck