Dahlia Dream

Gallery: FloraPosted August 28, 2011106 views15 comments

I love this time of summer when the local Dahlias come into bloom, tulips and water lilies are great but their is NOTHING like a colorful farm of dahlias. This morning was this years first shoot at a local farmers yard. Most of my images are single image but I did a manual 9 image stack to capture this gorgeous bloom.

Larger version available, thank you for stopping!

canon 7D
canon 100mm macro f2.8L IS USM
F/3.2 -0.67 1/250 ISO 100
tripod, cable, CS4 LR2 Helicon Focus stack processing, NIKs filter suite

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on August 28, 2011 at 6:38 PM

Gorgeous bloom and image Craig. I also like the composition. Striking image for my tastes.

pat

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

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on August 28, 2011 at 6:44 PM

Nice stack work, Craig. With all the detail it makes for a lot to see and study. Great comp as well.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by David Bostock on August 28, 2011 at 7:37 PM

Hey Craig, that's too funny about the titles. This shot is sensational. The clarity of the stack really helps, but what puts this over the top is the glow from the yellows. Simply awesome. How'd you isolate with a black background? I really admire your work here and the stacking. I just don't have the patience for doing that...

Cheers,

Registered on November 1, 2003, 90 Posts, 2778 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on August 28, 2011 at 8:28 PM

David B.
Thanks for commenting David. The black BG was possible by using a short piece of black mat board I remembered to carry. I just used a hole punch and cord to make a carry handle that I could loop onto my tripod when not in use. The shots were close enough that I could hold the mat board behind the bloom with one hand and the cable release with the other.
Craig

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Bruce King on August 28, 2011 at 8:41 PM

Gorgeous colors and beautifull work on the stack. Nice.

Registered on January 14, 2010, 276 Posts, 2212 Comments

Comment posted by Sandy Steinman on August 28, 2011 at 10:38 PM

Well done. You used the stack well and the color and light are perfect.

Registered on March 14, 2010, 10 Posts, 83 Comments

Comment posted by Nathan Buck on August 28, 2011 at 10:56 PM

Excellent bloom with wonderful light and color Craig. I love the dark BG too. Excellent photo!

Nathan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on August 29, 2011 at 3:27 AM

Craig:
Gorgeous and the stack is nicely done. Also like the dew on the petals and the BG is great. That is a neat trick to carry black board with you.

There is a small white speck on the edge of the petal (right middle) which can be easily removed.

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

Comment posted by scott lanz on August 29, 2011 at 7:11 AM

Expertly captured and presented.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments

Comment posted by Mauro Pasquero on August 29, 2011 at 10:18 AM

Great and impressive image with very bold colors, Craig. Good job !
Mauro

Registered on January 21, 2010, 650 Posts, 2500 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on August 29, 2011 at 1:00 PM

Fairly amazing work!

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on August 29, 2011 at 2:13 PM

Beautiful and rich, wonderful composition and light to me.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on August 29, 2011 at 4:30 PM

Craig: Cracking shot! Superbly crafted image.>=))>

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

Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on August 29, 2011 at 4:30 PM

This is superbly done, Craig ! I must admit I normally like to see dahlias like this in full frame, but here the black bg sets off the brilliant colours of the flower beautifully. The stack is just excellent. A very fine image in my view.

Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on August 30, 2011 at 6:27 PM

Gorgeous colors and flower!! Really sweet image!!

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments