a nice small wild flower

[doto]

I spotted this wild flower in my untidy backyard, it was very small but caught my eye.



this is the size in relation to a bee that came to feed from it




I had problems with the light. on the one hand I wanted to get as close as possible, on the other hand not to blow out the white petals

c&c always welcome

Dov

[wulf]

Photographing detail on white things, like flowers, is always a challenge. I think you have done it well on the macro but at the cost of the overall picture being a bit underexposed. That is better than overexposed though - don't be afraid to do some post-processing to refine the results.

One thing I think you could pay attention to in both these shots is the white balance. I am guessing that your camera may have been on auto WB, judging by how it changes between close-up and a bit further away. It would be useful if you could give us a summary of the gear and settings you used for these pictures.

Thanks,

Wulf

[doto]

taken with a panasonic fz8 on macro mode. wb was on auto, which in my short experience does a very good job in different kinds of daylight. THe second was proccesed in pse 6, which I am only starting to learn and as I did auto lighting and levels the colours are not the same as on the first one, which was in the shade and probably the camera's shde added to that

Thanks

Dov

[wulf]

If you are after shots of small, white things, then it would definitely be worth looking at other WB options - auto white balance is a good default in many situations but I don't think it did quite so well in the set up for the first shot.

Of course, WB is important for all subjects but having areas of white in the picture can make it much more obvious.

Wulf

[doto]

So i should have set the wb specifically for that shot? on white paper or on the flower itself?

Dov

[Canadian Mum]

Very nice, I am drawn into the detail on the bud behind the flower... the little hairs are well focused and captured.

[wulf]

Originally Posted by doto

So i should have set the wb specifically for that shot? on white paper or on the flower itself?

You want to set the WB so the flower looks white. You can either use the built in modes and experiment until you find the right one or use a white / pale grey surface to take a reference shot (check your manual for details on manual white balance). I suspect that the flower is to small to set the WB from directly.

Wulf

[doto]

Originally Posted by wulf

You want to set the WB so the flower looks white. You can either use the built in modes and experiment until you find the right one or use a white / pale grey surface to take a reference shot (check your manual for details on manual white balance). I suspect that the flower is to small to set the WB from directly.

Wulf

thanks for all your help

Dov

[CallMeKat]

i like the detail in the first photo, i love seeing how a camera can capture even the little hairs on things. it's like a microscope sometimes

[doto]

yes I agree, it gives a new perspective on the beauty of nature