Study Group 25
Audrey Waitkus

January

Title - Dreaming in Yellow

Photographer's Comments -

This orchid was photographed inside the Conservatory Dome at the Mitchell Park Conservatory in Milwaukee. I was struck by the delicate yellow and the pillow-like white center. I filled the frame with the petals so nothing would intrude on the dreamy quality. I was using my Canon Rebel XT in manual mode, with the 18-55 kit lens at 53mm. Because I wanted very little softening of the petal edges, I used f/16. Since I was on a tripod, I chose ISO 100 to minimize noise, and used an exposure of 0.6s. In Camera Raw I increased the exposure slightly, but otherwise this is as shot.

COMMENTS:

Maurees Kramer	Nice macro of the yellow Orchid, the edges of the petals are sharp and the center has a soft appearance, there appears to be a green cast to the outer third of the petals, is this chromatic aberration of the camera or lens.
Ed Gervais
Nick Palmieri	Nice one Audrey. I love these tight shots of orchids. Beautiful composition and nice exposure.
Ruth Holt
Eric Schweitzer	Wonderful color and great composition. Since you wanted very little softening of the edges, but have a portion of the white in the eye of the flower that is blurred, I wondered if the blurring could be reduced or eliminated. To check if adding some sharpening or reducing some noise would make a difference. I imported into Lightroom and tried adding sharpening with no effect, the same for reducing noise. I then moved the clarity slider to +50 and saw some change. It is I the thumbnail below. The change is subtle, not only is the center a little sharper, but the petal edges are a little sharper. (I have a high resolution monitor so it shows up more than on a regular monitor.) Very well done.
Nancy Seferian	This photo has some very nice contrasts--the pure white, totally focused center with its perfectly curved lines against the lush yellow and ruffled edges of the petals. It is well composed, the center white slightly off center of the composition. It has a warm, cozy feeling.

Audrey Waitkus I’m a partially retired theater technician, who has recently discovered photography as a hobby. Because it is a completely new field for me, I take every opportunity to participate in classes, photoshoots, and critique sessions with more experienced photographers. I am also very active in the Sheboygan Camera Club and the Urban Ecology Center Photo Club in Milwaukee. My main photographic interest is in capturing details, often those smaller than the eye can see. By looking down, looking up, and looking closer, the camera can abstract elements we miss on our daily rounds. And thanks to digital photography, the world is truly at our fingertips, with the ability to correct or enhance the work in post-production so that it will tell the story we intend, and allow us to convey our unique vision to the viewer.