Macro flower photographs

Peter- I have received that analogy by everyone that has viewed this shot. I think I have a title:) I am still figuring out depth of field with this lens, should have tried f/16 perhaps

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Originally Posted by rtbaum

Peter- I have received that analogy by everyone that has viewed this shot. I think I have a title:) I am still figuring out depth of field with this lens, should have tried f/16 perhaps

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So, what did you use then? With my macro shots I usually go for F/11 and 1/250 sec when I go for handheld. I do have VR, which seems to help slightly. Were you using a tripod for this shot?

I used tripod. Settings were f/7.1 for 1/4 sec, no flash, reflected light, ISO 100. Most of my shots have been lighted courtesy of south facing window; I am too much of a wimp to face Minnesota winter.

I took this photo with Nikon D90 - 70 300 mm lens VR at 300 mm with F22 and 1/13s exposure

[IMG]http://i40.tinypic.com/o92vqc.jpg[/IMG]

So as it's been a while sense I have contributed to this, here is a back lighted "Birds of Paradise" Please feel free to comment.

http://i41.tinypic.com/22srl.jpg

This is my attempt at macro photography...its a lilly........feedbacks are welcome


[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/r76kxv.jpg[/IMG]

There are some really amazing photos in this thread. I hope you don't mind me sharing some of my archived shots. I bought the Nikkor Micro 105mm manual focus lens back in 2010, and played a LOT with it, it is one of my favorite lenses, I sometimes use it with the Metz ring flash for macros, a nice combination, in my opinion.

This USED to be a flower, dandelion seed head, I put my pink baseball cap behind it to shoot it,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...SC_5149_LG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...SC_5153_LG.jpg

I bought a potted poppy plant and brought it home to shoot....you have to love poppies, so much detail in them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...4020025_LG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...4020074_LG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...020092_900.jpg

I also bought some tulips in pots, and when they bloomed...well, you know!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...o/P3310078.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...o/P3310068.jpg

Pear blossom
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/DSC_2215.jpg

Iris
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...lants/Iris.jpg

Sorry, picture overload?

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Originally Posted by SpiderBob

So as it's been a while sense I have contributed to this, here is a back lighted "Birds of Paradise" Please feel free to comment.

http://i41.tinypic.com/22srl.jpg

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Nice vibrant colours Bob and I like the composition. Somehow it reminds me of a boat a bit with that bluish part representing the bowsprit.
It has been a while for me as well. Real winter down here at the moment, so the only flowers I could hope to shoot would be iceflowers.

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Originally Posted by jeechu1970

This is my attempt at macro photography...its a lilly........feedbacks are welcome


[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/r76kxv.jpg[/IMG]

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Nice detail on the stems Girish. The crop is difficult with flowers like this, because they are big. You could try a bit of experiment with the placement of the stems in the photoframe.

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Originally Posted by Nat

There are some really amazing photos in this thread. I hope you don't mind me sharing some of my archived shots. I bought the Nikkor Micro 105mm manual focus lens back in 2010, and played a LOT with it, it is one of my favorite lenses, I sometimes use it with the Metz ring flash for macros, a nice combination, in my opinion.

This USED to be a flower, dandelion seed head, I put my pink baseball cap behind it to shoot it,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...SC_5149_LG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...SC_5153_LG.jpg

I bought a potted poppy plant and brought it home to shoot....you have to love poppies, so much detail in them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...4020025_LG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...4020074_LG.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...020092_900.jpg

I also bought some tulips in pots, and when they bloomed...well, you know!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...o/P3310078.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...o/P3310068.jpg

Pear blossom
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/DSC_2215.jpg

Iris
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...lants/Iris.jpg

Sorry, picture overload?

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Not really an overload. Really great photos Nat. I love the detail you have on some of them. That first photo is my favourite I think, that colour you put behind it is really nice.
Makes me think about how I photograph. I have the Nikkor 105mm VR and I use it handheld mainly to move quickly from subject to subject. But some of your photos can't be done that way, so I might try tripod now and then I guess.

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Originally Posted by Letrow

Nice detail on the stems Girish. The crop is difficult with flowers like this, because they are big. You could try a bit of experiment with the placement of the stems in the photoframe.

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Thank you Peter.........actually i did not get what u meant by saying placement of stems in the photoframe.........

Hi Peter......is this what you meant.........actually.............did a crop of the stems with pollen


[IMG]http://i41.tinypic.com/2m35lyv.jpg[/IMG]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Letrow

It has been a while for me as well. Real winter down here at the moment, so the only flowers I could hope to shoot would be iceflowers.

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Letrow, I really tried to find something I could take dealing with flowers and ice, but I'll have to figure that out latter :). Am going to Sweden in a few months, isn't that somewhere near you?

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Originally Posted by jeechu1970

Hi Peter......is this what you meant.........actually.............did a crop of the stems with pollen


[IMG]http://i41.tinypic.com/2m35lyv.jpg[/IMG]

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Yes, it is. It is always a matter of taste of course, but I like this photo a lot more than I did the other. You have highlighted the main subject better I think. The flower itself could be nice as well, but your original photo was a bit dull compared to this one.
But as I said, those big flowers are always difficult to get right. Zooming in on a detail will sometimes help.

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Originally Posted by SpiderBob

Letrow, I really tried to find something I could take dealing with flowers and ice, but I'll have to figure that out latter :). Am going to Sweden in a few months, isn't that somewhere near you?

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From your standpoint: yes, it is near. From my standpoint it is two to three hours flying, so not really that close. I've visited Sweden for business and it is quite nice, relatively quiet compared to Holland.

I took this one in the fall. A simple manipulation in LR gave it a wonderful soft glow.

http://i41.tinypic.com/jfuv6d.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Letrow

Yes, it is. It is always a matter of taste of course, but I like this photo a lot more than I did the other. You have highlighted the main subject better I think. The flower itself could be nice as well, but your original photo was a bit dull compared to this one.
But as I said, those big flowers are always difficult to get right. Zooming in on a detail will sometimes help.

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Thank You Peter.......

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Originally Posted by johnbharle

I took this one in the fall. A simple manipulation in LR gave it a wonderful soft glow.

http://i41.tinypic.com/jfuv6d.jpg

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What you can also try with flowers like this, as they have some white in them, is look at the effect of white balance. Gimp has a feature called automatic whitebalance, which in some cases can improve the colours a bit. The whites will pop out a bit more.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6...b62dd10b_b.jpg

The last rose in our garden. It is white outside and -8 Celsius. This guy is tough.

And one of the rosebuds

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6...d13db428_b.jpg