I went out to check out the poppy bloom near my house. I live near the Antelope Valley where our wildflower blooms can be legendary. While we don't have a "Superbloom" this year, we get enough rain this winter that we had a pretty decent overall display. I've got a lot of wide shots of the hills covered in color, so I tried to focus on details and show the delicate side of the flowers.
I shot this image with a Nikon Z9, with a VR AF-S Nikkor 24-70, f/2.8 ED lens with an FTZ adaptor (using older F-mount lenses on the newer Z series cameras). I was shooting kind of close, so I used f/14 to get as much of the main flower in focus, but get some blur in the background. ISO was 220 and shutter speed was 1/200. I used +1/3 exposure bias to open the shadows up a little bit. I didn't get out until the middle of the day so the shadows were kind of harsh. I didn't do a lot in post production but I did crop it, a few minor exposure bumps to open up the shadows even more and accentuate the texture in the flowers. I reversed the image in the frame to make a more pleasing composition and I put a slight white vignette on the image. I thought it helped brighten the overall feel of the image.
I hope everyone is getting out and capturing spring!
6 comments posted
Max Burke
Your wild flowers are coming out well. The California Poppy looks the best of the flowers. The purple flowers are colorful, and soft as regards some being sharp.
I seem the effect to fog and that helps. And, the black Frame does it some good. Keep it up and the background helps to do this image good. Posted: 04/06/2026 17:08:44
Andrew Lewis
Thanks, Max. I really appreciate your input! Posted: 04/13/2026 16:29:37
Mark McKinney
First, I love the white vignette on this image. Just perfect and a complement to the flowers. Your camera skills are spot on with this image! The use of depth on field puts the attention on the flowers. Exposure on flowers is perfect! Nothing is overexposed! Very well done Andrew. Posted: 04/06/2026 20:15:25
Andrew Lewis
I really appreciate your thoughts and insight, Mark. Posted: 04/13/2026 16:30:43
Bruce Michelotti
Wonderful use of depth of field here Andrew. The beautiful poppy is the star, yet the viewer is treated to a whole field of beauty in the background. Of course your white vignette helps with the overall dreamy look too. I particularly like how you have used the purple flowers to compliment and frame the orange poppy. Very nice detail in the petals and throughout and the colors and composition are spot on. Nice image, print it and hang it! Posted: 04/12/2026 18:05:26
Andrew Lewis
Thanks, Bruce! Not quite framed, but I had some magnets made and we're selling them at a local art show. Fingers crossed! Posted: 04/13/2026 16:31:32
