Cheryl Diermyer
July 2025 - Awakening
About the Image(s)
These tiny flowers get more sleep than I do! They fold up at night around 8:00 PM and awake around 10:00 AM. The pods in this image are much smaller than your pinky finger nail. They are about the size of a period made with a # 2 pencil. Lesson learned with this image is to check my ISO settings before shooting. I could have used a much lower ISO. I masked the background and brought the exposure way down. I brought up the clearity and dehaze in Photoshop +20 on the subject. I had to do a bit of cleaning up. After a trek in the Sand Dunes of Death Valley, my camera sensor is in serious need of a cleaning!
Sony a7 IV, 90mm Sony Macro lens, 1/100 sec, f/20, ISO 1250
5 comments posted
We are all for razor detail this month, and this has bucket-loads of good detail.
I wouldn't worry about ISO 1250 on a Sony sensor - they make the best sensors in the world, I think. You'll have lots of latitude at this ISO if you need it. Here, I rather think that the shadows enhance the picture, no need to lighten them. Posted: 07/06/2025 20:46:06
I wouldn't worry about ISO 1250 on a Sony sensor - they make the best sensors in the world, I think. You'll have lots of latitude at this ISO if you need it. Here, I rather think that the shadows enhance the picture, no need to lighten them. Posted: 07/06/2025 20:46:06
Margaret West
Very interesting flower. The center pods are interesting. I might cry sown to just an image of that part. I like the flowers at the edges themselves but the entire image gets a bit busy; see what you think? Great detail and processing Posted: 07/07/2025 06:17:51
Really nice shot--wonderful sharpness and detail. I do get what Margaret is saying--the best part is the center pods. With the stems, it is busy without the stems adding anything to the overall image. I think her comment was "I might try to crop down..." darn that auto-correct!! Anyway, you could do many things to minimize the background elements if you wanted to. I am all about honoring what the intent of the photographer was--and you may want those back elements. In that case, focus stacking, perhaps? For me as a viewer, if you could just fix that background, I think your flower itself (or pods) are really great, and very, very interesting, with a great combination of red and green! Posted: 07/10/2025 18:12:06
Thank you everyone for your comments! I will play a bit with the cropping. I do like the two flowers in the image, so maybe I will settle on two different crops. I really appreciate this group and the feedback given. Posted: 07/11/2025 00:36:50
Cheryl, what a wonderful image, and the colors and textures are so sharp and bright. The detail is great. My eyes do wander to the right background image behind the main flower so maybe I would suggest cropping the right side a bit. Posted: 07/20/2025 21:31:16