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Bee Bokeh
Bee Bokeh
Quigley


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Bokeh IV (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron SP MF 500mm f/8.0 Catadioptic Adaptall
Location: Orillia Ontario Canada
Date: Sep 2, 2007
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/800
Galleries: Nature, Floral
Date Uploaded: Sep 3, 2007

Taken in our local beach flower gardens. Backlit by my beautiful assissant (my wife) with my reflector. The flower was in total shadow so it was fun to try and get in the right spot with the reflector. We garnered many a strange look from passers by.
auto levels
saturation boost
shodows adjust
and small color boost

Statistics
Place: 245 out of 364
Avg (all users): 5.2073
Avg (commenters): 6.4000
Avg (participants): 5.1687
Avg (non-participants): 5.2469
Views since voting: 1317
Views during voting: 220
Votes: 164
Comments: 10
Favorites: 0


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AuthorThread
07/07/2008 09:09:07 AM
This has become one of my favorites from this challenge. The soft glow of this lens is quite beautiful. The edit is excellent & the dominating bloom is beautiful, (voted this 6) but I also like it as an fine & rare use (at least on dpc) of this difficult, fixed aperture, unusual lens. I noticed the subtle circular bokeh, an interesting characteristic of a mirror lens, while voting, but at the time was not aware of how that could occur. My criticism would be that the crop is too tight, not enough bokeh shown.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/30/2007 08:18:58 PM
nice stopped motion, could stand a bit more contrast, but still a nice shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/19/2007 09:14:28 AM
(Stupid cable company problems caused a double post...grr!)

Message edited by author 2007-09-19 10:20:28.
09/19/2007 09:12:20 AM
Whoops! There it is. Lens information! Sorry for the oversight.

This is a difficult subject to work to throw the background into a soft blur. You couldn't have opened the aperture on this lens more than f/8--even if you could you'd be fighting to keep important elements in the blossom sharp because of the depth of the flower. So, with the equipment at hand it seems the background needed adjusting. More separation between flower and background--a different bloom, a different angle toward a portion of the foliage farther away? Or, as mentioned before, a more dimly lit background--perhaps having your "beautiful assistant" shade it.

Of course, if this challenge weren't under "basic" rules you could just dodge and blur the background in Photo Shop... ;-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/18/2007 09:51:43 PM
Greetings from the Critique Club!

The flower and lighting are lovely! The bee was caught at a nice moment though I wish the wings were better defined. With a shutter speed of 1/800 it's surprising that the wing action isn't better stopped.

There are two main issues I see with this image. First, the center of interest is in the center. This leads the viewer to the bull's eye and there the exploration mostly stops. Second, The detail of the background competes for attention with the texture of the petals and the main interest. It becomes a subject in itself.

For this challenge, "Bokeh," the out of focus background was important. I feel it just has too much going on. With so many interesting lines, light and distinguishable shapes the bokeh does not enhance the subject. You don't say what lens you used, but I find a long lens (around 200 mm) taken from further away with similar settings to yours can help throw the background out a bit more. Another way is to choose a background that is not as well lit as the subject.

Overall, a pleasing subject with great color and lighting that suffers a bit because of composition and background distractions.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/10/2007 05:18:23 PM
Perhaps the background is a little busy, but I do like the bee!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/06/2007 11:15:06 AM
I really like this!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/06/2007 01:19:50 AM
nice capture on the bee
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/05/2007 11:21:16 PM
Still trying to catch a photo of a bee in flight, myself; you did a great job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/05/2007 01:00:49 AM
Love your colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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