June Image - A Study in Color

How I did it -

--"A study in color" was captured in a hot house, Keukenhof Gardens, Holland April '08. There was so much to see that our PSA group spent 3 days photographing this marvelous place. The hot house provided a shelter from the wind which was a great help for spending 1 1/2 hrs. standing over my tripod trying too be creative with my Canon 30D and 100-400 Canon IS lens and a closeup filter. This image was captured at 100 ISO, f22 at 1/15 sec. My work flow included a small crop, sharpening and a boost in saturation. In the near future I am going to photograph different flowers using the 100-400 f56, 16 to 35 f2.8 and my 100mm, 2.8 Macro lens, then determine which of these lenses provide the best results.

COMMENTS:
 

Jerry Appel	Very fine and creative rendition. Interestiing and imaginative. I might be tempted to make it just a touch darker, but my screen is brighter than most and it may well not be worthwhile at all By the way, if you are into this sort of image, and if you care to blow the bucks, you might look at the Canon 180mm f3.5 macro lens, one of the sharpest lenses I have ever seen.
Bill Buchanan	You did a real nice job of composing this image under difficult conditions. The yellow center of the tulip is a bit bright and I question if this may have been controlled with Curves. I recently saw George Lepp demonstrate the use of Helicon Focus software to increase the depth of field by combining a series of images focused at different points in the image to create a sharp image throughout.
Joe Hearst	I love the sharp green anther (if that's what it's called) with the out of focus yellow petals. It does look like a case for Bill's edge darkening, though.
Guy Davies	This is a lovely close-up of this flower – I guess it’s a tulip. This has been well handled as it is sharp where it matters and the composition is delightful. I like the soft flowing lines coming in from the bottom left and leading the eye to the solid green column, surrounded by the stamens. Putting the whole thing on an angle is the icing on the cake to produce a simple but beautiful image.
Rex Morey	Your photograph has a nice sensuous flow from left-to-right, red-to-yellow-to-green; landing my eye on the reproductive organs of the flower. However, the dynamics are static; a slight tilting from left to right, placing the green thing more in the lower right corner. Not much, just enough to please me.
Alex Lane	: Very nice color study- where Bills flowers were very vivid these are more pastel - both are nice in their own right. This image is not quite sharp - and maybe a 'Study in Color" does not need to be? The composition is good but the bright area in the lower left is a bit distracting.

Member Bio

Erik Rosengren - Biography While in college, in the late 50's, I was given a Kodak camera. It was used for record shots of family, friends and vacations. This format would continue until the mid 80's. Purchasing a Canon T90 raised my photographic bar. After taking a Photo Safari to Kenya, Africa I joined the first of two photo clubs in the Buffalo, NY area. The Club experience proved to be a turning for me. This new learning experience can only help one become a better photographer. In 1997, due to a family illness, my wife Pam and I decided to retire. After months of travel in our RV we settled in Largo, Florida. This area has nurtured my love of nature photography. I am the current President of the Suncoast Camera Club of Clearwater as well as a member of the Central Chapter of PSA. In 2005 I will apply for my second star in Color Digital Images and third and fourth stars in Nature.