went looking for webs, got cool shots of something else!

[pjflan7]

For those you wondering how these were made......I went back to the waterfall area near the river and was looking for more webs with dew drops but the sun had not yet risen high enough to illuminate them, so I resorted to just playing around with I could find. So I found these dandelions and pulled them and was handholding them in a stream of sunlight coming through the trees. I shook the dandelions so their seeds loosened.....by blind luck the single seedling was suspended by the finest of silk thread...so small that it could not be detected by the camera....I could not believe my luck. First the background was very dark as I was in a cut in the hillside but I could also afford to underexpose the shots with the head and the seedlings in super bright sunlight. So the background went sufficiently dark. They are almost SOOC. In my Canon zoombrowser software, I darkened the overall shots some...about 15 pts, and boosted both contrast and saturation a tad...5 pts or so and that was it. I was handling the dandelion in my left hand and holding and shooting with my right hand.....lucky enough to get it steady enough......I believe that I shot at 1/320th to control the brightness of the seedlings and also darken the background.....the lighting is all natural 10 am sunlight outdoors. For the blue shot.....all the same basically but taken about 4:30 in the afternoon at lunchtime.....slight under exposure obviously but holding the dandelion to the sky and positioning it in such a way as to put the full strength of the sun on the seedlings...hope you like them and maybe you'll try your own!

[Angelb]

Just been admiring these in your flickr, I love your shots of nature and these definitely don't disappoint me. I love the black and then the blue backgrounds, they help enhance the beauty of the dandelions.

[shellie20]

Wow Patrick. These are really awesome! Thanks for sharing how you did it. Cant wait to try it myself!

[Steves Shots]

Wow Patrick, these shots are really well captured and I love the last shot with the falling seed thanyou for sharing these cheers Steve.

[pjflan7]

Originally Posted by Angelb

Just been admiring these in your flickr, I love your shots of nature and these definitely don't disappoint me. I love the black and then the blue backgrounds, they help enhance the beauty of the dandelions.

Yes, I really like it this way without any background distraction...thanks for looking

[equilution]

Very nice, Patrick. I love the airborn shot of the seeds! Very creative. The dark background makes those shots. But I also like the deep blue background of the one lion. Very nicely done, sir!!

[JustJim]

And I thought you'd got a great action shot! Not everybody gets to have a spider spinning their webs as a photographic assistant. How much do you pay them for that, and are they difficult to direct? Great shots, thanks for sharing the shots and the method.

[JJ Frizz]

The black compliments the delicate seeds, and the blue gives them a special kind of pop. Excellent shot.

[beachcomber]

Quality work Patrick, I like them all particularly the ones with the apparently airborne paracutes although the third one, with the lighter background and the softer appearance is my favourite of the set

[CapnJack]

Patrick- very nice...and thanks for explaining how it was done