Sunflower Field

[ajsmith]

These were taken at a local farm that has a large sunflower field. They are usually at peak around mid August, but because of the heavy rains we had in the spring the seeds were washed away. The farm owners replanted the seeds and the flowers are in bloom now, about a month later than usual.

I went there on Saturday and planned on a sunset photo shoot. The weather was bright and sunny all day with a forecast of rain over night. The sky started to cloud up in the late afternoon, so I set out earlier than planned. The lightning was actually pretty good, the sun peeked through the clouds as it was setting.

I took a lot of photos, some good... some not so good. I am going back next weekend to try again and hopefully learned something from my mistakes. Here are a few that I liked. C and C welcome.

#1 - f7.1, 1/160, iso:200


#2 - f11, 1/50, iso:400


#3 - f13, 1/100, iso:200


#4 - f11, 1/80, iso:400


#5 - f8, 1/125, iso: 200

[Donald]

A very fine set, Ali. I can't see any technical 'faults'.

Compositionally, I do like #3 and #4; i.e. the wider views, particularly #4. I think you've got the shot pretty much perfect. The flowers are bold and 'up-front'; i.e. they're clearly the main focus of attention. I like where you've placed the horizon line. And the whole thing adds up to a lovely balance of texture and colour.

[Brownbear]

Ali these are all beautiful, #2,3,4 are stunningly so.

[Wavelength]

Love them all

[ajsmith]

Donald,

Thank you for your comments. Everything worked to my advantage on Saturday. The sky was cloudy but bright with a few peeks of sun which made exposing for both the sky and flowers a little easier.

[ajsmith]

Christina,

Thank you for your comments.

[ajsmith]

Nandakumar,

Thank you for your comments. I am glad you liked all the photos. It was all about the lighting... the weather started out as a beautiful sunny day and started to cloud over in the late afternoon. It was a perfect time to take the photos.

[ClaudioG]

Great images Ali.. i see there was no wind either!! you really got it spot on..great colours...may i ask if you've tried converting #1 to black and white? i've seen an image of sunflower converted to B+W and its quite striking..i'm not saying it'll be better cos im a fan of your images here..just interested to know. My fave btw is #2...the detail is just what i'd love to be able to get outta my images.

[ajsmith]

Hi Claudio,
I have seen b&w sunflower photos and you are right, they are striking. I know that there are some b&w magicians on this website and I hope they can give some C and C here.

Here is my attempt to convert a few of them to b&w using PS CS5 and a black and white adjustment layer. They may be over sharpened and the shades could be all wrong...

#6


#7


#8

[ClaudioG]

Great stuff! Works especially well on the first 2. Amazing how the detail comes out in centre of the sunflower. Very cool Ali ...i like em..hope you feel same way

[Clive Kirby]

2 and 4 do it for me. I really like 2, but then I do like close up studies. 4 gives the impact you standing in a field of sunflowers. Great work.
Clive

[ajsmith]

Claudio,

Yes, I love them! I do love black and white photography, just haven't done much of it. Photoshop is not a problem, I know the different methods to create a black and white, but that is just clicking buttons. I lack the knowledge of knowing which sliders to change to make the photo stand out and which other features in Photoshop I should use.

You are right, the details really come to life in the b&w. The sharpening settings I used were quite high, is that normal for b&w?
I need to find a tutorial or book on b&w with the details on how to tweak the setting to get the best photo.

Thank you for you suggestion to convert the photos to b&w.

[ajsmith]

Hi Clive,

Thanks for commenting. Those are the same two I like.

[Karm Redland]

I think your no. 8 (BW) is a great image.

karm

[ajsmith]

Karm,

Thanks for your comment. The #8 b&w looks really nice in the full size original on the computer.

[allenlennon]

i really love 2,4,7 & 8. Love them but cant decide which is i like more, each of them worthy of framing

[Dawn1]

really beautiful sunflower images, I like both the colour and the B&W.

[umughal147]

I like all these flowers wallpapers, which are making the thread more beautiful and charming. Please share and upload some more pics, so that i can get a huge collection.

[Shadowman]

Very nice series.

[gregj1763]

2 and 4 in the colour version Ali and #7 in the B&W conversions. I love the tones and texture in #7. It's almost like you could feel the plant if you touched the screen.
Stunning