Taken at my favorite place, the Atwater Market. Can't go wrong there for a Flora challenge. Many different flowers to choose from, but these were my favorites.
I tried a technique that I read about on DPC forums. Very high shutter speed plus the flash to get a black background in bright light setting. Although the light was no so bright, I used 1/10, 000 of a second at F11, and the built in flash a normal intensity. I also used the macro setting on the lens. Very slight level and saturation adjustments in PS, resize, USM and added the border using the green from the foliage.
I think it's not so bad for my first attempt at this technique. Thanks to Bod (I think) for posting it on the forums.
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You've picked a good subject in tulips, an interesting flower whenever and wherever you go. Obviously, Atwater Market was the right place to go for the Flora challenge.
As several people noted, your composition is good although I think that the single bloom in the front overpowers the others a bit. With the somewhat uneven lighting, it magnifies that effect. Personally, I wouldn't crop quite so tight at the top but that's probably just me.
The technique you followed --- high shutter speed with flash --- did produce the black background you wanted. Unfortunately, that same flash is a harsh source of light and causes unwanted shadows in the picture. I don't know much about your camera but either an off-camera flash or using a diffuser might have softened those shadows to the point that they just provided a nice 3-D effect on your subject rather than being an uneven light source.
Your focus and DOF are both quite good and I like your border. These enhance the picture and help to make it very interesting. And, of course, you've chosen a very good subject to start with. Nice job!
I love the focus on this picture -- tulips are my favorite flower. The light from the flash iseems a little bit bright on the main flower, but I think the overall lighting is very nice. Good work!
i dont find the lighting on this very pleasing. not sure why it's so dark yet the front bloom has such a harsh light on it. did u shoot this at night? and if so, why>? sharpness is good, tho.
Lovely flowers. The lighting is a little unbalanced. The front flowers are getting maximum lighting and the back flowers are too dark. Otherwise the composition is very good and the color combination is bang on.
Nice composition of one of my favorite flowers. The color is nicely saturated. The one in the foreground suffers slightly from a little glare. Overall very nice!
I'm not real fond of the lighting here. The flowers in the back are a bit too dark, and the flower inthe front seems to be a bit bright in spots. Focus and clarity look alright and the angle and framing/cropping are good as well. Just bad lighting in my opinion. The dark shadow to the right (on one of the flowers) is real distracting. The color is nice in the flower in the front though. good luck in the challenge.
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