Might have been better in full auto but it wouldn't have been mine

[JBW]

[Shadowman]

It could still be yours in full auto, I'm only satisfied with full auto captures 10% of the time, most need additional processing. My system tends to expose to the right in full auto and always blows the highlights.

By the way, this capture definitely lifts the blossom away from the background. Much better. That leaf upper left is exceptionally sharp; but it does help point towards the blossom.

[JBW]

It could still be yours in full auto, I'm only satisfied with full auto captures 10% of the time, most need additional processing. My system tends to expose to the right in full auto and always blows the highlights.

By the way, this capture definitely lifts the blossom away from the background. Much better. That leaf upper left is exceptionally sharp; but it does help point towards the blossom.

I have no idea why the leaf is so sharp. The focus was definitely on the blossom.

[Marie Hass]

Hi, Brian

DoF may be the culprit in your picture. if you think of it as 3D or different planes, the plane that the leaf is on is the same plane as the frontmost portions of the bloom - the closer outer edges if you will. The further back you go, the less in focus. Conversely, the closer the subjects in the image get to you, the less in focus as well.

Does that make sense?

Marie

[bnnrcn]

It looks nice

[JBW]

Hi, Brian

DoF may be the culprit in your picture. if you think of it as 3D or different planes, the plane that the leaf is on is the same plane as the frontmost portions of the bloom - the closer outer edges if you will. The further back you go, the less in focus. Conversely, the closer the subjects in the image get to you, the less in focus as well.

Does that make sense?

Marie

yes it does.

[JBW]

It looks nice

just what I was hoping to create, something nice to look at.

[pnodrog]

I think you are on to something Brian.

If I cannot take the credit when it is on full auto then I must also be able to blame the camera for any failure. Considering the ratio of success to failure this is a winner as the camera will get the blame far more often than I could have taken the credit.

Brian have you tried cloning at say 80% transparency to tone down attention seeking elements in the background? It can be done to a different layer and discarded if not wanted. Doing it is easy, does not take long and can improve a photograph dramatically.

[Manfred M]

Brian - some years ago I took a course on landscape and nature photography given by an nationally know wildlife / nature photographer. His work was 100% done on a tripod and he was absolutely meticulous in his work. For this type of shot he would set up his camera look through the viewfinder and move around until he got the framing he wanted.

He would then clean up the scene by removing unwanted elements, such as your leaf that is in the same plane as the subject. He had a small pair of scissors in his kit bag and would prune any offending leaf out of the shot. He was particularly intent about anything around the edges of the frame that should be in the shot.

At the beginning I thought this was cheating, but by the end of the course, i realized this was good photography.

http://www.jdavidandrews.com/Home.html

[JBW]

I think you are on to something Brian.

If I cannot take the credit when it is on full auto then I must also be able to blame the camera for any failure. Considering the ratio of success to failure this is a winner as the camera will get the blame far more often than I could have taken the credit.

Brian have you tried cloning at say 80% transparency to tone down attention seeking elements in the background? It can be done to a different layer and discarded if not wanted. Doing it is easy, does not take long and can improve a photograph dramatically.

No yet but I can certainly give it a try.

[JBW]

Brian - some years ago I took a course on landscape and nature photography given by an nationally know wildlife / nature photographer. His work was 100% done on a tripod and he was absolutely meticulous in his work. For this type of shot he would set up his camera look through the viewfinder and move around until he got the framing he wanted.

He would then clean up the scene by removing unwanted elements, such as your leaf that is in the same plane as the subject. He had a small pair of scissors in his kit bag and would prune any offending leaf out of the shot. He was particularly intent about anything around the edges of the frame that should be in the shot.

At the beginning I thought this was cheating, but by the end of the course, i realized this was good photography.

http://www.jdavidandrews.com/Home.html

Absolutely correct and i did remove some twigs and leaves as well as moving around to find what I thought was the sweet spot.

[Manfred M]

Absolutely correct and i did remove some twigs and leaves as well as moving around to find what I thought was the sweet spot.

I guess you missed one. Look at the position of the twigs and leaves relative to the sensor plane as opposed to the point of view from which you are looking.

[JBW]

I guess you missed one. Look at the position of the twigs and leaves relative to the sensor plane as opposed to the point of view from which you are looking.

I will give that a shot.