outdoor photography

Sensitive Briar This morning I went to Marl Bed Flats, and there wasn't much wildlife to speak of--well, there was a close encounter with a Feral Hog, which I never saw, but did hear very close to me.  I think we startled each other, and we both went in opposite directions.  Out on the flats there was not much to speak of, just the usual Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Meadowlarks, and wading birds, with the addition of a very distant Least Bittern which I saw flying between patches of reeds at the slough.  Photographically, I turned my attention to the flowers, as there was some beautiful Water Hyacinth and Sensitive Briar blooming.  I know I've posted photos of both of these flowers recently, but they're so pretty I thought I'd go ahead and do it again. Water Hyacinth

Atamasco Lily On my way to Dothan, AL this past Friday, I stopped by the Suwannee River State Park near Live Oak, FL, just off of I-10.  I went there last year on the same trip, and I had thought the place was pretty but didn't see much wildlife.  The same held true this year, though the added bonus of seeing a patch of Atamasco "Rain" Lilies near what appeared to be a Cypress swamp that is currently dry.  I didn't have my macro lens with me, but I decided to have some fun seeing what I could do with a 400mm lens shooting from relatively far away.  I thought it would be fun to shoot from below and play with the backgrounds with various lilies out focus and others in focus.  I only had 15 minutes before I had to hit the road, so here's what I came up with. Atamasco Lily Atamasco Lily

Flowering Tree at Brookside Now that we've looked at the needed equipment and strategies for composition  and lighting to develop your own style for flower photography, I'd like to consider the need to break the mold you set, at least on occasion. When I lived in MD, I used to go to Brookside Gardens  [ gallery ] every Saturday morning.  I love that place--I suspect it's the best free place to photograph flowers in the state.  One day I was looking through my photos from Brookside, and it hit me that all my photos were taken at 180mm (the focal length of my macro lens), and almost all of these were closeups of flowers.  I was in a flower photography rut, and I didn't even know it.  Breaking that mold was hard, and in fact I'm not sure I ever did.  In some ways I guess I decided I liked my rut and I was sticking to it. Daffodils But I also realized that on occasion I need to try something different--I needed at least some variety in my a...

Flower at Lew Gardens Now that we've looked at necessary equipment and strategies for composition , let's consider lighting.  Lighting can be a significant challenge in all forms of outdoor photography, but thankfully in closeup photographs of flowers, it's one challenge where you can exert a great deal of control.   Cloudy days are your best friend; they often create the ideal lighting situation for flowers.  If you happen to have a slight drizzle, even better.  I love flower photos with water drops.  I usually bring plastic bags with me and cover my camera with them when shooting in a slight drizzle.   Early morning hours are also great for photography, before the sun shines directly on the flowers.  Nothing beats flower photography on an early, still quiet morning, with nothing to hear but the birds chirping and the shutter tripping. Using a Diffuser to Photograph  Once the sun rises and shines on your flowers, everything change...

Lazy Flowers at Brookside Gardens In my last post, we looked at the equipment needed for closeup photos of flowers.  Now I want to consider some strategies for composition.  There are two significant challenges to composition when it comes to flower photography.  The first challenge is largely aesthetic and the second largely technical. Top-Down View of Flower Aesthetic Challenge Flowers are pretty, so there are lots  of flower photos to see out there.  Even good flower photos can appear to be "just another flower photo" when seen in the context of all there is to see.  But interestingly, most flower photos are shot largely the same way.  They show the whole flower, and they are often look at the flower from the top down.  Please understand, there's nothing wrong with this, and I wouldn't discourage you from doing this if that's what you enjoy.  But consider also that not only do these images share many similarities with each...

Rose at Brookside Gardens When I first fell in love with photography, it was largely because of what a photograph could do to a flower, especially getting up close to them to portray them in ways we normally don't look at them.  They are marvels of nature, so I'm excited to begin a series on how to photograph them.  I'm going to concentrate on macro & closeup photography of flowers, at least to start off.  This is not the only or even best way to photograph them (since there is no "best way"), but it is the way that I prefer to photograph them.  Shooting close up photos of flowers properly is demanding and exacting work. It's also painstakingly slow.  But the results you can get are worth far more than the effort it takes to get the photo.  Here's what you need to get started shooting close up photos of flowers. Lilly at Greenspring Valley Park Camera.  Well, of course.  Most any quality DSLR will do just fine photographing flowers...