Colorful Bromelia - January 2012

How I Did It

A friend called me in case I wanted to photograph his beautiful Bromelia. This one lasts only one day. Naturally, I ran over. I took several poses and this one, one of the best, had a hair right on the tip of the stamen, noticed only after I installed it in the computer. Naturally, I cleaned it up with the Spot Healing Brush, as well as other minor imperfections. I also toned down some of the brighter areas with the Burning Tool. Yes, I would have liked to have the stamen sharper, but not until now did I think that I could have taken two or three images, each at different focusing points and then combine them in the computer. Well, next time!!! If I think of it.

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COMMENTS:

Marti Buckely	The flower is well done.  Love the angle of the stamen and the curls of the petals.  The red pods and stems on the right rather cause my eye to go there though - and they aren't sharp.  I tried a bit of cropping which I think puts more emphasis on the great flower.
Dianne Glick	This shot is very dramatic - very "tropical"???  Did you remove some of the background?  I really like the effect of the colors against the black background.  You are great with PhotoShop.
Jo-Ann Devine	Interesting macro shot. It’s hard to believe the colors are natural. Very nice background.  Good detail.
Nancy Brown	Love the dramatic lines and colors.  And don't mind the softer focus of part of the petals and red.  Dark background is perfect.  All of this emphasizes the stamen and top petal edges.  Think it makes it all a bit more artsy -- rather than for competition.  Perhaps even blurring the red a bit more.  Have you tried flipping it?  Think it would be even better.
Bob Yelle	Joe, I love images of flowers that are bigger than life and colorful, and that is just what you have entered this month.  Catching a Bromelia like that on the only day in a year that it blooms, is marvelous.  You've even critiqued the pic yourself so I don't have to.  Thanks.  Just kidding.  I like this entry very much.
Larry Hegstad	To my eye,  this is very successful image.  The composition is well balanced and the position of the flower is right.  I don't believe that every part of a macro image needs to be sharp.  I do feel, however, that the major subject of the image needs to be sharp.  For that  reason, I personally would like to see the stamen sharp, even if it meant other portions of the image were rendered soft.  Did you use a macro lens?  What f stop?  What is the light source and how did you control the light?
Joe's Reply:

Member Bio - Joseph J. Zaia, FPSA, ASIIPC, FMC (jzaia@cfl.rr.com )

Although Joe has been interested in photography since his teens, he has been seriously active and engaged as a contributor to the photographic community for over 37 years. A Photographic Society of America (PSA) member since 1971, he has served on a variety of committees and held several offices. Before moving to Florida from the Metropolitan New York area, Joe was active in the PSA Cosmopolitan Chapter, in the Chase Manhattan Camera Club and the Metropolitan Camera Club Council, Inc. serving on the Board of Directors again chairing a variety of key committees. Having a passion for sharing his experiences and knowledge with other photographers, for twelve years Joe ran a series of one-day to two-week location workshops in areas including Cape Ann MA, Boothbay Harbor ME, upstate and New York City, and Woodstock VT. He also has developed a wide variety of tutorial programs covering subjects such as water reflections, montaging slides, scenics, and creating glass and multiple exposure abstracts. He has presented these to numerous camera clubs in New York and Northern Florida as well as at the Annual New England Camera Club Council in Amherst MA, the Cosmopolitan Chapter, in NYC, the Everglades Chapter, and the Central Florida Chapter, Florida, as well as Regional and Annual PSA International Conferences, around the Country. He is an exhibitor in the PSA International Exhibitions, exhibited several one-man print shows as well as several others by invitation. Residing now in Flagler Beach, North Florida, he is an active member of the Photography Club of Flagler County, Palm Coast, the PSA Everglades and the Central Florida Chapters.  Joe has been active in the Color Slide and the Photo Travel Divisions of PSA. Joe is also involved in the Electronic Imaging Division and is interested to learn how to manipulate images electronically. He is working with a Canon 50D camera and Photoshop CS5 in a PC with the Windows XP Operating System.