Raven Ridge Gardens: camera work

Thursday, September 08, 2016

Miltonia Orchid

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Another exercise in lighting contrast, I placed this Miltoniopsis orchid in a translucent gauze-covered west window during a bright afternoon, adjusting the exposure so I was able to photograph the orchid while the background became almost white. You would never know that there are shrubs just outside the window.

The image just above is not a crop of the larger one on top even though it looks like it could be. I was intrigued by the deeper colors created by petal overlap as the bright light shone through them and wanted a closer look.

I'm not sure where these exercises are leading me, if they are leading me at all, but I am enjoying the ride.

Sunday, September 04, 2016

Black Iris

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These two photos were taken as an exercise in lighting. I stepped behind the flower, which was growing very near to a large clematis, and shot into bright sunlight.

I kind of like the washed out, over-exposed look of the background ferns and plants in contrast to the deep purple-black of the foreground iris petals, along with the bright light coming through and illuminating the veins of those petals further away from the camera.