Murphy Hektner, APSA
October 2026 - COMFREY
About the Image(s)
Comfrey is a culinary herb that has become a garden escape in our area. In good soil it grows about 36" tall. The bush sways back and forth in just the slightest of breezes, so a very clam day is necessary to make a sharp photo.
Here I used my tripod mounted Nikon D700 with a Nikon 200mm macro lens (1/30 sec, f/20, ISO 1,250). It was cloudy with no wind. I also used a Photoflex soft gold reflector to modify the light and post processed in Elements.
4 comments posted
Natalia Venkatesh
Hi Murphy. Love the colors and all the details. Composition is spot on. I wonder how small these flowers are with no macro. Posted: 10/08/2026 11:49:11
Hi Natalia: Pleased you liked the Comfrey flowers.
Each individual flower is about a quarter of an inch in width. I used my 200m macro lens that will focus in even a little closer than it was for this picture. Posted: 10/08/2026 16:10:21
Each individual flower is about a quarter of an inch in width. I used my 200m macro lens that will focus in even a little closer than it was for this picture. Posted: 10/08/2026 16:10:21
Wonderful image with a lot of color and detail. As noted earlier, your composition is very effective in providing a sense of flow to the subject. The background is nicely soft with a complementary color, yet there is just a hint of the background elements to suggest the potential surrounds.
Now I feel that part of the 'WOW" factor of this image is the flower detail, especially in the individual spikes on the stem and leaves. For the most part these elements are shown, but if this is one of the main points here I would have liked to have seen them all throughout the image. In many places they are soft or blurry, and while that may be OK in some images, here I wonder if you just missed out on providing all of the essential parts that were important to you. I realize that even with an aperture of f/20, getting sufficient depth-of-field in a single image may have been challenging. If this level of detail is important, then focus stacking may be the path to follow. Finally, I know that you like to add pinstripe borders to your images, but I would ask if that is needed in this case. I am uncertain if it adds anything to this specific presentation.
I realize that I am being a bit strong in some of my comments, as this is a great image. But given the work you have shown in the past, you have the ability to really tell your story effectively, and I am challenging you to focus more upon the details that will bring your work to the next level.
Nice work though.
Posted: 10/08/2026 21:08:06
Now I feel that part of the 'WOW" factor of this image is the flower detail, especially in the individual spikes on the stem and leaves. For the most part these elements are shown, but if this is one of the main points here I would have liked to have seen them all throughout the image. In many places they are soft or blurry, and while that may be OK in some images, here I wonder if you just missed out on providing all of the essential parts that were important to you. I realize that even with an aperture of f/20, getting sufficient depth-of-field in a single image may have been challenging. If this level of detail is important, then focus stacking may be the path to follow. Finally, I know that you like to add pinstripe borders to your images, but I would ask if that is needed in this case. I am uncertain if it adds anything to this specific presentation.
I realize that I am being a bit strong in some of my comments, as this is a great image. But given the work you have shown in the past, you have the ability to really tell your story effectively, and I am challenging you to focus more upon the details that will bring your work to the next level.
Nice work though.
Posted: 10/08/2026 21:08:06
Hi Charlie: Thanks for your input, your suggestions are always appreciated.
Regarding pinstripe borders; I think in many cases the use of a thin border adds that finishing touch to an image. Then also a thin border separates the picture from the black interface of the webpage. The jury is still out on borders, some photographers like them while others do not prefer to use them. Posted: 10/10/2026 05:54:56
Regarding pinstripe borders; I think in many cases the use of a thin border adds that finishing touch to an image. Then also a thin border separates the picture from the black interface of the webpage. The jury is still out on borders, some photographers like them while others do not prefer to use them. Posted: 10/10/2026 05:54:56