I bought my wife flowers...again

[James Newman]

I buy them because she loves them and I love her but I also have alterior motives I think. I bring home flowers quite often but somehow always end up rearranging them and photographing all of them. She doesn't seem to mind though. It's a win win situation. She gets her flowers and I get my photos. I recently bought some extension tubes for my Nikon 105mm macro lens and this was one of my first shots using them. It's going to take more practice and experimentation but that's what I love about this process. I am really enjoying the different views and looks inside that I am able to get when up close like this. It gives me a completely new way of seeing things. I don't really have anything deep or meaningful to say about the image other than I like it and it makes me feel good looking at it. Macro therapy.

 

[Edward Bussa]

It's good to hear that I'm not the only one that has secret, ulterior motives!

I really like the composition with the painterly petals in the foreground, but my eye wants more detail/light in the center!

Is this a small flower?

 

[James Newman]

Yes...ulterior...thanks for spellchecking me This flower is not small really. I'd say it's about the size of a carnation. I tried a few different shots with my flash because I too wanted to see more detail, especially down the center. It sort of spirals downward in there and looks really nice to the eye. This is the same flower but at that different angle. There is probably still not enough detail but it's a little clearer. I will keep working on this and experimenting more with my flash system. Thank you for your comments and suggestion.

 

[nicolas claris]

Hi James,
Interesting motivation!
What camera and lens do you use?
Do you manual focus?
The composition is interesting but the lack of details IMHO kills the image...

BTW does your wife likes your photo work with flowers?

 

[Asher Kelman]

Well, James, you must be keeping your wife happy with the flowers but it takes a little more to justify new lenses!

I like the flower too. It is very gentle ans reminds me of a sunset, a girl in a silk dress one can't quite make out sitting by herself at sunset outside a small club in Cancun on the beach.

Sharp and detail are not always needed if the idea is there.

For this picture, the truth is in the print. How does it print, that's what counts. I think it might print well. Are you using a tripod setup and a macro rail? That's a good idea!

You should just keep at it. This is a great subject.

What is the name of the flower?

Asher

 

[Edward Bussa]

I like the flower too. It is very gentle ans reminds me of a sunset, a girl in a silk dress one can't quite make out sitting by herself at sunset outside a small club in Cancun on the beach.

Such a way with words and images!

For this picture, the truth is in the print. How does it print, that's what counts. I think it might print well. Are you using a tripod setup and a macro rail? That's a good idea!

Great point Asher! I hadn't thought of that - prints tend to have a touch more contrast, right? What exactly leads you to think this might print well?

 

[nicolas claris]

Sharp and detail are not always needed if the idea is there.

Sorry, Asher, I really disagree with you on this point, depth of field, narrow or large, is an important part of the "vision", it takes the spectator where you want him to focus (auto or manual is another choice ;-)
Without depth of field, there is just no possible vertigo.

The idea is essential, but it needs to be expressed. Without the possibility of doing so, you get a snapshot, not a photography. Technique is part of the now famous "Arc Of Intent".

I guess this statement will generate a lot of discussion, pros and cons...

By the way I haven't told James to buy a new lens or camera, I just asked what kind of lens and camera he's been using…

 

[Anita Saunders]

Without depth of field, there is just no possible vertigo.

The idea is essential, but it needs to be expressed. Without the possibility of doing so, you get a snapshot, not a photography. Technique is part of the now famous "Arc Of Intent".

I guess this statement will generate a lot of discussion, pros and cons...

By the way I haven't told James to buy a new lens or camera, I just asked what kind of lens and camera he's been using…

Firstly, congrats James, on both the gifts for your woman and the results from your cam! I like the first one you posted because the lighter foreground and softness really work well for me. However, I would also have liked more light in the centre. A reflector would have worked wonders here. No expensive ring flashes, just a reflector bouncing light from an external source (natural or not).

Secondly I agree with Asher, not Nicolas, that dof is not a necessity. On the contrary I often like these types of shots with limited dof. The more limited the better for me. Place the small plane of focus where you want it, and it swims in the vastness of nature and colour, just like a dream world .... I usually use the widest possible ap for this very reason!

Keep shooting and let's see some more.

 

[Kathy Rappaport]

I like the first one very much.

It has a Georgia O'keefe feeling to me. I love those floral DOF shots.

I've using my similar shots for printing sets of greeting cards to give as gifts with some of mine and they are well received.

 

[James Newman]

First of all thank you for the kind words. Feedback, whether positive or critical only fuels my hunger to learn more and try more things. Asher, your comments and your vision is very unique and I always like reading what you see in an image and what it might make you feel.

I don't post a lot here because I don't feel like I know enough yet to offer anything useful. I read a lot of the threads here though and I am drinking in as much as I can from those of you that do know. I think some of it is paying off because I am seeing improvement in my own work and if you knew me you would realize that it is taking a lot just to say something like that. I am saying it though and I really believe it and I am happy to have found such an informative and creative gathering of minds and talent. It gives me something to strive for in this wonderful obsession.

My take on this particular image is very basic. Being rather new to photography and not knowing all of the rules, I obviously don't see things the same way that some experienced artists might. I see something that interests me and I just try to capture what I am seeing. For me it does not necessarily have to be realistic or sharp all of the time. I love the abstract just as much and I sometimes look for that in my subjects. In this particular instance the image I was seeing was on the softer side anyway and I liked it because of that. That's all really. Oh yes, the flower is just your run of the mill chrysanthemum. At least that's what my wife said. I really don't know for sure.

My camera is a Nikon D40. It is their very basic entry level DSLR and I love it. This image was made with the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR macro lens. It is a very nice lens as far as I can tell and it gives me great results when I let it. I really enjoy it and use it a lot. I have no plans of getting a new camera or lens anytime soon. I have wants, but no plans. I'm perfectly happy with what I have for now and there is so much more I have to learn. I have not even scratched the surface of what this little camera and my lenses will do.

Thanks again for the input.
James Newman

 

[Asher Kelman]

f 25 1/60 second 105mm lens effects! Diffraction alert!

My friend Nicolas,

It's important for some people to insist on sharp focus or else we'll lose part of the technical capability to deliver our artistic visions. We don't want all images blurred!

However, we do need to have the artistic option of the partly understood, the image that is soft like a moving skirt or feelings lost in the wind.

Asher

Behind the soft moving skirt, the visage of a women is preciously designed... like the flower's pistils should!

Again and again, the ying and the yang, plus and malus, blur/soft and delicate sharpness, make the great emotion.

Both soft and sharp are melted for the best of each other, they're like the fingers of the hand... like a sharp hair on a soft skin.

Sampling? see my post there

 

[Asher Kelman]

Dear Nicolas,

You wrote in my own post! You have pouvoir! You do realize you deleted my sharpened version of the flower? Never mind! It's funny! You should have clicked on Quote not Edit! LOL!

Behind the soft moving skirt, the visage of a women is preciously designed... like the flower's pistils should! Again and again, the ying and the yang, plus and malus, blur/soft and delicate sharpness, make the great emotion.

Both soft and sharp are melted for the best of each other, they're like the fingers of the hand... like a sharp hair on a soft skin.

Sampling? see my post there

Asher

 

[James Newman]

All I can say is wow, have I got a lot to learn. And also thank you all for using my photograph as an example in your discussions and examples. I find it very entertaining and interesting and hope to someday be able to utilize some of this in my own work. I have not had this particular image printed yet but will be having that done soon. Speaking of printing, I have just recently had my first ever prints made from any of my photographs. I have to say I am now certifiably hooked on prints. I have prints now of 8 of my photos and they are simply wonderful. The effect and visual beauty is just so much better on paper than on my computer screen. I can't stop looking at them and I also can't believe that I am responsible for them. They are all 16x24 and on a metallic paper. My wife really likes them and already has it all planned out how they are to be matted and framed and where they will hang. It's nice to have that kind of support. Tomorrow we will be going out again on our weekly outing looking for something new and exciting to photograph. Hopefully something will be good enough for me to want to print it. When I have this flower printed I will take a photo of it and post it for you Just kidding. Thanks again for everyone's help and suggestions.
James Newman

 

[nicolas claris]

Oh là là mon Ami Américain!

Dear Nicolas,
You wrote in my own post! You have pouvoir! You do realize you deleted my sharpened version of the flower? Never mind! It's funny! You should have clicked on Quote not Edit! LOL!
Asher

Oh là là mon Ami Américain!
Shame on me! I am so sorry, could I be beatten some thousands of times...
Of course I didn't realize that! I can't get any excuse as I have no explanation to bring as it wasn't my intent...

Please find hereunder your sharpened version:

Here's the picture selectively sharpenned with CS2 Unsharp Mask after the shading was dealt with by levels and curves

.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Je vous remerci mille fois, comme il faut!

Vous et un vrais amis toujours!

Asher

 

[James Newman]

I have not found another mum yet Asher but I will. I did however buy the wife some tulips. I tried to find a happy medium on these between soft and sharp. I don't even know if that's possible but that is what I intended. These were shot with the same Nikon D40 but this time I used my 70-300mm zoom. Again with natural light through a window in our breakfast nook. That room is quickly becoming my "studio" much to my wife's dismay. Flowers are ok with her but when I start bringing in spiders and toads, she gets a little upset. There is actually a small insect on one tulip petal that I never saw until I put it up on my monitor. By the time I went back to the flowers, it was gone. I did not tell her though.
I would like some input on these if possible to let me know if these are heading in the right direction. You're probably going to ask what direction I am trying to go and I guess all I can say is onward and upward. I like the results here but know very well that it can be greatly improved upon. And oh yes...my wife wants these printed.