Marian Bodart
December 2021 - Goldfish or poppy
About the Image(s)
Here are the details:
1/500
f 3.3
105mm
ISO100
Nikon D500
Story behind the shot: After a spring rain I went out into the yard and found the raindrops still clinging to blossoms. I quickly grabbed my camera and macro lens and tried to capture the water droplets from a low angle. When I was post-processing the image, my 3-year-old grand-nephew wandered into the room and told me this was a goldfish, not a poppy!
This round’s discussion is now closed!
9 comments posted
Hi Marian,
The colors and composition of this image are great. Raindrops are often tough to capture well and I appreciate your effort.
The focus on the flower however seems a bit soft although the rain drops are sharper...This could be for a variety of reasons including even the slightest movement of the poppy and/ or lack of depth of field in the close up (more likely the latter). I own the same macro lens & find it sharpest at f 5.6 or f8. Shooting at one of those apertures could give you more depth of field and only increase your ISO to about 400.
Posted: 12/06/2021 10:16:18
The colors and composition of this image are great. Raindrops are often tough to capture well and I appreciate your effort.
The focus on the flower however seems a bit soft although the rain drops are sharper...This could be for a variety of reasons including even the slightest movement of the poppy and/ or lack of depth of field in the close up (more likely the latter). I own the same macro lens & find it sharpest at f 5.6 or f8. Shooting at one of those apertures could give you more depth of field and only increase your ISO to about 400.
Posted: 12/06/2021 10:16:18
Thank you so much for your suggestions, Norm. I appreciate the advice on the lens. I plan to try this shot again next year when the wildflowers bloom and the spring rains arrive.
Posted: 12/13/2021 09:20:20
Posted: 12/13/2021 09:20:20
Hi Marian,
I love the raindrops on your poppy and the poppy also has the shape of a goldfish... I like the color harmony, the angle in which you shot your picture, and the very sharp raindrops.
To my eyes, it appears that there was a very slight breeze that blew. At first, I thought a tripod might have helped, but I have changed my mind. I don't see that a tripod would have helped you. I need a tripod to take a sharp macro picture because my hands shake even when there is no wind or there is no camera movement. Increasing the shutter speed might have helped as well as the aperture. Posted: 12/06/2021 12:44:41
I love the raindrops on your poppy and the poppy also has the shape of a goldfish... I like the color harmony, the angle in which you shot your picture, and the very sharp raindrops.
To my eyes, it appears that there was a very slight breeze that blew. At first, I thought a tripod might have helped, but I have changed my mind. I don't see that a tripod would have helped you. I need a tripod to take a sharp macro picture because my hands shake even when there is no wind or there is no camera movement. Increasing the shutter speed might have helped as well as the aperture. Posted: 12/06/2021 12:44:41
Thank you so much for the advice Marcella. I did try the shot with a tripod, but the low level of the flower, the light and my aging joints made using the tripod very difficult. I opted for hand-held and hoped for the best. Next spring I will try this again! Posted: 12/13/2021 09:22:39
(Group 65)
Hi Marian,
The colors and shape of the poppy are lovely. I believe your intent was to capture and focus on the raindrops. You accomplished what you set out to do. I like the sharp raindrops against the soft flower. Posted: 12/07/2021 09:03:46
The colors and shape of the poppy are lovely. I believe your intent was to capture and focus on the raindrops. You accomplished what you set out to do. I like the sharp raindrops against the soft flower. Posted: 12/07/2021 09:03:46
Hi Barbara - thank you so much for your kind words. I will try this again next spring with different aperture and shutter speed, and see what happens. Posted: 12/13/2021 09:24:49
You have the water drops sharp and the goldfish is close to sharp. I think having the stem holding up the goldfish being soft is a plus and the soft background is wonderful. Generally this is hard to accomplish in garden shots.
If you were trying for a very limited depth of field, that is what you accomplished. I think the 1/500 second should be adequate to prevent camera shake with modern cameras and unless there was noticeable wind that should be fast enough hand held. At the same time unless you felt you needed it for limited depth of field, the ISO 100 is lower than you probably needed to prevent noise with a modern camera. ISO 200 would allow either a faster shutter speed or closing down the lens a stop for more depth of field.
Frankly, I like the image you achieved. Posted: 12/16/2021 10:38:17
If you were trying for a very limited depth of field, that is what you accomplished. I think the 1/500 second should be adequate to prevent camera shake with modern cameras and unless there was noticeable wind that should be fast enough hand held. At the same time unless you felt you needed it for limited depth of field, the ISO 100 is lower than you probably needed to prevent noise with a modern camera. ISO 200 would allow either a faster shutter speed or closing down the lens a stop for more depth of field.
Frankly, I like the image you achieved. Posted: 12/16/2021 10:38:17
Harriet Ciccone
Marian - I love the sharp water drops against the softer poppy. The colors are gorgeous. Posted: 12/16/2021 11:30:25
I like the simplicity of this picture. The composition is good the focus is good and to add to the colours you have those water droplets. Posted: 12/18/2021 07:14:16