Carol Sheppard  


Softly, Softly we go by Carol Sheppard

June 2021 - Softly, Softly we go

About the Image(s)

The settings were ISO1600, f5.6 and 1/25 sec. using my Olympus 4:3 and my Zuiko 60mm macro lens. I had to bump the ISO up to prevent going any further on the aperture and shutter speed.
I really didn't do much other than white, black and vibrance adjustments in LR.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
5 comments posted




 
I think this is a terrific photograph - soft background, with pretty pastel coloring and nice shadows, that provides a nice pillow for the core of the flower that is sharp and has a kind of chartreuse center that really draws my eyes. My one nit is with that chartreuse center - it could use a touch of sharpening.   Posted: 06/05/2021 14:34:08



Stuart Ord   Stuart Ord
Yeah! Lovely. The ART of macro.

Alas we can't let you away with 10/10, as I agree with Bill. Post might not do it, it's back to the f5.6. Go on, jack it up to f16, or stack! Alas the subject was not very bright - I would really recommend my new macro ring flash. Shutter speed is irrelevent, and f16 or lower is easy without sky high ISO. But any bounced flash might help if you avoid harsh shadows.

So, 9.5/10

Have you seen Charles Needle's work? He also gets lovely pastel type macros. There's a PSA webinar he gave called "Creative Macro Photography with Charles Needle" - very well worth a look. His book of similar name is good too.   Posted: 06/10/2021 15:17:49



Bob Crocker   Bob Crocker
(Group 57)
Nice capture, Carol. It's one of those 'soft' images that really works. It's more about the composition than the technical. Saying that, I agree, f5.6 would make it hard to get the foreground and the verticals in the center all in focus. Mmm, ring-flash, I've had my eye on that Nissin unit, ah, more gear.... yeah!   Posted: 06/10/2021 15:25:07



Carol Sheppard   Carol Sheppard
Thank you for all your input! I always begin with brightening, but I found that in this case, it didn't reflect what I wanted when making things brighter. Why 5.6? Because I didn't want to go any higher than 1600 ISO. Bringing the aperture to a more narrow setting would have blocked even more light. And at 1/25 without a tripod, that couldn't go any lower for me. Yes, familiar with Charles' work. I prefer the look of Kathleen Clemons for floral images.   Posted: 06/10/2021 17:08:52



Tom Pickering   Tom Pickering
(Groups 0 & 53)
I guess I'll have to be the odd man out, but I was totally enthralled by your image. The shallow DOF didn't bother me a bit and it reads as almost hi-key which works well for the colors in this flower. As floral photography is one of my passions, I've been enjoying your submissions each month. d;¬{D   Posted: 06/21/2021 13:55:48