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Ornamental grass flower

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted December 9, 2011214 views10 comments

This is a close-up, top-down view of the flower of a black-flowered fountain grass (Moudry-Pennisetum alopecuroides). I tried various apertures to see what effect it would create. I liked the look of this one; I think it almost looks like some type of sea urchin! This was a fun experiement to see what I would come up with.

Canon Rebel T1i. 90mm macro lens. F/4 for 1/8 sec. ISO 100.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on December 9, 2011 at 12:33 PM

A very interesting image- Without the greens, I would bet for a protozoa, but a sea urchin could fit it as well- Nice detail and excellent DOF choice- Very well done, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Joe Becker on December 9, 2011 at 3:33 PM

Carolyn, what a wonderful photograph. Well done. My only suggestion would be not having the "spikes" cut off by the top of the frame.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 76 Posts, 182 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on December 9, 2011 at 8:30 PM

Wow. Wow. Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

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

Comment posted by scott lanz on December 9, 2011 at 10:38 PM

Fascinating image, Carolyn. Very original and certainly colorful. I am curious about how you achieved the green and purple colors.

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

Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on December 9, 2011 at 11:46 PM

Scott, the flower/seedhead is basically these colors with some additional saturation of the colors during editing. The center is greenish with the outer spiky stems being more of a blackish purple. The BG was the OOF green grass stems below the flower. These flower/seedheads are a similar size and shape to the cattail plant that grows in wet areas but are more open and spiky.

Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on December 13, 2011 at 2:51 PM

Interesting perspective and a wonderful display of colors, this does look like it was a fun subject to experiment around on, well seen.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Anne K. Rusk on December 13, 2011 at 10:25 PM

The square comp adds a great deal here. I think it looks like a planet or a star or something cosmic! I only wish that the outermost spines weren't touching the edge of the image. Very cool find!

Registered on October 10, 2010, 65 Posts, 904 Comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on December 14, 2011 at 1:12 PM

A very striking image you've created. I agree with the similarity to a sea urchin.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Jaymes Dempsey on January 23, 2012 at 8:35 PM

I really like the depth of field and colors. It does look like a sea urchin!
Jaymes

Registered on June 28, 2010, 47 Posts, 590 Comments

Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on January 23, 2012 at 9:06 PM

So very cool !!!!

Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments