Flowers

[Kevin]

Bought a few bouquets of flowers on Saturday and took out the 5D and Sigma 150. Decided I wanted to go extreme so added the 12mm and 25mm extension tubes. Used my studio lights for illumination. One for the main light and one for the background. Exif is attached.

http://www.kevinpaavola.com/PixelShooter/111707Macro1.jpg


http://www.kevinpaavola.com/PixelShooter/111707Macro2.jpg


http://www.kevinpaavola.com/PixelShooter/111707Macro3.jpg


http://www.kevinpaavola.com/PixelShooter/111707Macro4.jpg

[Mao]

These are fantastic Kevin. I love them.

Now, I hope you didn't offer it to Toni after they'd wilted.:biggrin:

[gene_mtl]

Those are nice, Kevin. But #3 is awesome, dude!

[Kevin]

Thanks Mao & Gene! No, Mao, she's enjoying them in all their glory. I'm afraid they're going to be wilted by the time I can get them back in studio to shoot some more. I've got some more ideas to try. :)

[Andy Nelson]

Kevin,

These are outstanding! Number 3 has me spellbound for some reason. Come to think of it they all do!

By the way I am going to take you up on your offer of a guided tour one of these days. Thanks!

[viewfinder]

Very nice Kevin! Love the clarity with flash macros when done right, and you have obviously that with flying colours!

My favourite is #4 (I wonder why...) and #2.

Regards,
Jonathan

[Harv]

Beautiful set, Kevin. I might have to try that one day. Did you at least present them to your wife first or did she have to wait until after you were finished photographing them? :biggrin:

[Bobby]

See Kevin, it's not always about the birds. Magnificent set.

[David Cramer]

Beautifully captured, Kevin. No. 3 is really quite striking.

[MGlennn]

Gorgeous shots Kevin....can't pick a favorite :cheer:

[Jytte]

Oh my. These are goooood. Enjoyed them very much.

[spfanatic]

Wonderful series Kevin! I like the way the anthers are just breaking open to reveal the pollen in #3. Did you use a softbox for #1 and how far away did you set the main light? I have always wanted to try studio flower shots... :cheer::cheer:

[Kevin]

Kevin,

These are outstanding! Number 3 has me spellbound for some reason. Come to think of it they all do!

By the way I am going to take you up on your offer of a guided tour one of these days. Thanks!
Thanks Andy! I love those Ruby Throated Lilies. I was happy they turned out ok. I tried to stop down quite a bit to get lots of dof.

Very nice Kevin! Love the clarity with flash macros when done right, and you have obviously that with flying colours!

My favourite is #4 (I wonder why...) and #2.

Regards,
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan. Funny, but I knew which ones you would like. In fact, as I was taking them I was thinking about you and your style. You know the kind of shots of yours that I enjoy the most so when I saw a similar style flower to what you often do, I just had to buy them and try it out. So thanks for the inspiration! :)

Beautiful set, Kevin. I might have to try that one day. Did you at least present them to your wife first or did she have to wait until after you were finished photographing them? :biggrin:
You should indeed try it Harv. You might also win brownie points with the Mrs. Unfortunately mine is too wise and realizes the real reason I buy them. ;(

See Kevin, it's not always about the birds. Magnificent set.
Thanks Bobby! I just love photography and enjoy shooting all kinds of things. But in many ways flowers are more enjoyable, though not as rewarding.

Beautifully captured, Kevin. No. 3 is really quite striking.
Thanks David. I'm glad you liked them. I marveled at the Ruby Throated anthers (?) when I was reviewing the images. I've got some great abstracts of just those pieces and parts. I'll have to process them up and post them.

Gorgeous shots Kevin....can't pick a favorite :cheer:
Thanks Mike! Glad you enjoyed them.

Oh my. These are goooood. Enjoyed them very much.
Jytte, I'm so glad to see you posting again. You've been missed. (Did you send me that cute puppy yet? ;)) Thanks for the kind words. :)

Wonderful series Kevin! I like the way the anthers are just breaking open to reveal the pollen in #3. Did you use a softbox for #1 and how far away did you set the main light? I have always wanted to try studio flower shots... :cheer::cheer:
Hi Pam and thanks! Glad you informed me of the technical term. I am so ignorant of those parts other than pistol and stamens and petals. :)

For the main light, I used a 42" shoot thru umbrella. The background light was shot thru a brolly box (enclosed umbrella). The main light was fairly close, probably less than 5' away. In fact there were times that I was between the umbrella and the flowers as I wanted to get in tight with the tubes on. In those cases, I just moved the light a bit more to the left.

I would encourage you to try florals in studio. It's so easy to control the light and get the effect you want. I used my portrait backdrops for the backgrounds. Next time I'll mix them up some to get some more color in the background. I was using a predominantly grey with rusty colors. It's not noticeable in these but moreso in the other shots I took.

[Salsa]

You made my day,honest you did:-)
Flowers are for sure my passion and I love every one of these:-)
The gerber daisy in the second and the lily in the third are so beautifully photographed.
Sally

[Ellen]

Yep, I have to agree with everything that has been said all ready Kevin. 3 is just gorgeous.

[spfanatic]

Hi Pam and thanks! Glad you informed me of the technical term. I am so ignorant of those parts other than pistol and stamens and petals. :)

For the main light, I used a 42" shoot thru umbrella. The background light was shot thru a brolly box (enclosed umbrella). The main light was fairly close, probably less than 5' away. In fact there were times that I was between the umbrella and the flowers as I wanted to get in tight with the tubes on. In those cases, I just moved the light a bit more to the left.

I would encourage you to try florals in studio. It's so easy to control the light and get the effect you want. I used my portrait backdrops for the backgrounds. Next time I'll mix them up some to get some more color in the background. I was using a predominantly grey with rusty colors. It's not noticeable in these but moreso in the other shots I took.

I'll have to give it a try! Thanks for the info.

[ahockenberry]

Sweet !!!!!!!!

[paul weston]

Very nice,love the last one

[Rudi]

Aaaah, a 5D and a macro lens... Doesn't get much better that that! Unless you're pressing that shutter button, Kevin! :D

[Ann]

Terrific Kevin!! My fav is #3!

[Joe F.N.]

They're all good Kevin but #1 does something for me. Not only is the quality fantastic but I sure do like the comp. in that one.

[sikoragirl]

WOW! I love the color in the 3rd shot - it's electric! =-)

[chezem]

Just too good. Hard to pick a favourite Maybe #1 and #3. Really is the 5D in all its glory. :cheer:

[Lisa]

Gorgeous, Kevin. The lighting is fantastic!:cheer::cheer: #3 is my fav!

[gene_mtl]

Kevin, quick question -- Were these taken hand-held or with a tripod?

Will be going to the Botanical Gardens late Feb / early March. They have a butterfly exhibit there each year. These galleries have last year's pictures.
Butterflies: http://ghealy.smugmug.com/gallery/2536526
Flowers: http://ghealy.smugmug.com/gallery/2555537

Using the FZ30, I had a focal range of 35-420mm on the camera. Pretty flexible set-up.

But with the 5D, I figure to use the 70-200 f/4L and the 100mm f/2.8 macro. Would I be better off with one of the other lens (i.e. 24-105mm f/4.0 IS or 50mm f/1.4)?

Having to think ahead about what focal length I want/need is part of the learning curve. <Smile>