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Spider flower
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Spider flower

by Carolyn Derstine

Gallery: FloraPosted August 8, 201390 views11 comments
These spider flowers, or Cleome, reseed readily in my flower beds each year. I love its interesting designs and beautiful colors but it is tricky to find a pleasing comp of this complex beauty. For this image, I decided to just show the top blooming portion of this flower since the lower part was already drooping and losing petals.

Canon 60D. 180mm macro lens. F/5 at 1/100 sec. ISO 160. Tripod mounted, natural lighting.

Comments

11 comments
Comment posted by S Govindarajan on August 8, 2013 at 8:40 PM
Very interesting blossoms, Carolyn. Excellent composition with the buds on top. I particularly like the alternating pinks and greens. The border is a bit disconcerting, though.
Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on August 9, 2013 at 9:11 AM
A very successful take on a difficult subject, Carolyn. I like your choice of perspective and the circles of light in the bg, and the colours and forms of the flowers are a delight.
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on August 9, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Well, I like everything about this. Wonderful color, the dof works very well, and the background adds to the appeal. :toast:
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Bob&Charly Nelson on August 9, 2013 at 4:27 PM
This looks like a very difficult subject Carolyn. Very well captured in my opinion.
Bob :wavey:
Registered on October 27, 2005, 289 Posts, 4202 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on August 9, 2013 at 10:23 PM
Yes, Carolyn, a challenging subject. I like the contrasting bg to go with the purple blossoms.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on August 10, 2013 at 11:18 AM
I think your comp works very well here - I like the symmetry. The colors are rich and vibrant as well.
Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on August 10, 2013 at 8:59 PM
The colors are outstanding! I have never been able to get a decent image of this, and yours is excellent! You managed to pull symmetry out of what looks pretty chaotic.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Nancy Lea Sandy on August 10, 2013 at 10:01 PM
Beautiful. Rich color and lovely details. Very nice job
Registered on January 24, 2011, 576 Posts, 6942 Comments
Comment posted by Roger Leekam on August 11, 2013 at 10:42 AM
The plant is technically very well handled. To my taste the frame is too thick & bright. I would also be tempted to try making the bright area top right less prominent.
Registered on May 28, 2009, 83 Posts, 646 Comments
Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on August 11, 2013 at 11:29 AM
So lovely, wonderful rich colours and beautiful comp and light !
Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on August 11, 2013 at 11:44 AM
Hi Carolyn :wavey: Very well composed , for a difficult flower, The color and detail is delightful. for more ideas on how to compose Cleome., see my gallery :smile:
Albert Darmo
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments