Summer Experiments

It’s been a while since I’ve done some fun photography. I’m not sure yet where this is going to go, but I thought I’d post some preliminary results.

 

Over the summer, we had a lot of Japanese Beetles. They're about 1/2" long with shells that are this iridescent green/purple/black. They like to gather en masse on leaves, slowly chomping away, leaving the ribs of the leaf. As the dog was trying to catch grasshoppers during walks, I began noticing the remains of these beetles’ appetite. I hadn’t really paid attention to the architecture of the leaf before, and thought it could make some interesting photos.

 

I’m still playing with the lighting in some of these, and noticed it’s best to get the shots at night. The pictures themselves are ok, but converting them to black and white and playing with the levels a little give an eerie effect. The inverse is weird, too. Pretty funky stuff. Hopefully further messing around will produce similarly abstract results.

Extreme Close-up: Lilies

This extreme close-up/abstract look at flora is a draw. While not a whole lot of texture, lilies have depth, which meant difficulty getting things into focus. But I did get some interesting shots.

Top and  bottom right are my favorites. Bottom left is a mutant with double the petals, etc. The speckles add a nice pattern. Interesting, but I don't think I quite hit it out of the park. Maybe a double.

Preliminary Trial

A few weeks back, I spoke of experimenting with some black cloth as a background for my floral shots. While walking the dog in the obscene heat and humidity, I noticed Queen's Anne Lace everywhere.

Above left shows the original image, an enhanced version is on the right. These shots were taken under minimal lighting conditions. Quite pathetic really.

After I enhanced the original, I removed the color. Under these bare minimum standards, the black and white result is very nice. Time to build a frame and get decent lights. Oh, and time.

Peonies in Abstract

To get up to speed, see this post.

Peonies, with their petal structure, are loaded with texture. It’s almost impossible to get a bad shot. A large flower, you certainly have some leeway in playing up the angles. I wasn't too worried about sunlight and shadows, but in general I do prefer slightly overcast conditions.

The thing about peonies is they secrete a nectar attracting primarily ants, which is why you see them crawling all over the buds before they bloom. Afterward, too, and they are joined by gnats and these little, itty-bitty bugs, I don’t know what they are, but they’re easily Photoshopped out, and that’s all that matters.

Next year, I’d like to try something with a non-reflective black cloth and (at least) four strategically placed lights. I’m hoping the result will look as if the bloom is floating in space. We shall see.

Irises in Abstract

Mother Nature is the ultimate painter/sculptor/performer, and after a cool spring, the irises are finally in bloom. Last year I tried to get standard shots, but the bedding was substandard, and I had forgotten that irises sort of bloom from the top down. The tops do not always stay photogenic enough for the lower ones to join them. However, perhaps the biggest reason for not doing close-ups before is I didn’t think of it until now.

It’s a little difficult to play with the angles when you’re trying to crop out everything that’s not flower. I took some after a rain for added texture, but do they really need it? And I’m on the fence in regards to the ones taken under sunny conditions. Sometimes extreme shadows do little to help. But since this is an experiment, they’re included. I think my favorites are the extreme closeups of the folded petals.



They are not National Geographic, nor are they Mapplethorpe or O’Keefe. If I’ve accomplished anything, it’s that time was taken to stop and appreciate the things around us. Not a bad thing to do and it’s not done nearly enough. Try it sometime, you’ll like it.

Without consciously setting out to do so, I did some along the same lines with peonies last year, but I’ll give them more focus this time. They’re just now starting to come out.

Winter Wonderland

A few days after Christmas a powdery snow fell, covering the branches, giving them the look of coral. With the sun out, and a slight breeze, I knew my time was limited in catching whatever shots I could.

Nature's Nike swoosh. This close-up shows the effect I'm talking about. 

We've all seen it. I'm not sure what or if there's a technical term.

 

These two help illustrate the coral effect.

 Looking to south, there was less contrast between the sky and everything else.

 More coral, just more of it. And yes, the sky really was that blue looking towards the north.

 Two shots with an even higher density.

 

These visions greeted me as I came back up the lane. Love that glowing effect!

Despite all the kvetching we do about winter (not that it's not always justified) it's really hard to do so when you're presented with the awesome artistry of Mother Nature.