Phabulous Phlox

Gallery: FloraPosted April 5, 201091 views8 comments

Sony A700
Minolta 200mm macro
ISO 200, 1/250 @ f8

One of the great things about the early wildflower season is that there are hardly any spent blooms and everything is budding and verdant. Found this little mini-scene northwest of Poteet, Texas last Friday. I'm partial to the shallower DOF version but have posted an f22 version below. Any preference on your part? All comments welcome. >=))>

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on April 5, 2010 at 1:39 PM

Here's the f22 version.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Kathy Odiorne on April 5, 2010 at 2:58 PM

Nicely done, Bill. I think I prefer the shallow dof. The flowers just seem to pop.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 211 Posts, 1471 Comments

Comment posted by Bernie Kasper on April 5, 2010 at 4:13 PM

I like the shallower one as well, more emphasis on the blooms in that one, beautiful work as always Bill !!

Registered on June 5, 2005, 251 Posts, 3734 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on April 5, 2010 at 7:12 PM

I give up Bill. I'm deliberately forcing myself to shoot SOA but sharp focus almost always looks better to me and it certainly does here. At f22 I like the image very much while at F8 the blooms don't seem to pop as much to me. Ideally the bark would all be in focus in the f22 shot but don't see how you could get there without stacking or backing up enough to change the shot dramatically. Interesting comparison.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on April 5, 2010 at 7:21 PM

Bill:
Both images are engaging but I am with the majority in preferring the shallow DOF.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Southard on April 5, 2010 at 10:53 PM

Hey Bill, both images are very nice. Couldn't decide at first on a preference; kept going back and forth. Finally decided on the f22. The second image just pops more. Although there is a lot going on in the BG, it all appears very natural, and the flowers more than hold their own. This may sound weird, but I find the BG in the f8 image somewhat distracting, while not distracting at all in the f22. Go figure!

Registered on July 15, 2007, 258 Posts, 3892 Comments

Comment posted by Timothy Epp on April 6, 2010 at 5:18 PM

Hmm tough choice. I like the lighting on the flowers more on the second, but I prefer the DOF of the first, so ultimately I'd go for the second one over the first. Both are well done though!

Registered on January 1, 2009, 72 Posts, 333 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on April 7, 2010 at 9:10 PM

I think both shots work on different levels. Your usual masterwork on the comp, Bill!

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments