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Spring Fireworks WC 634
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Spring Fireworks WC 634

by Jim Lockhart

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted May 16, 2014168 views5 comments
Wanted to find something a little out of the ordinary. Though many of us don't like to see them in our yards, this dandelion has a beauty all its own. Cropped from the sides, used auto levels and auto sharpen in PSE, then opened in Picasa and increased the shadows all the way to make the background go black.
Nex-6, telephoto zoom at 75mm, HH, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/80, Av mode. Comments and suggestions always welcome and thanks for viewing.

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on May 17, 2014 at 8:04 PM
Even though dandelions are considered a pest, I also find them to be beautiful during their different stages. If they were hard to grow, everyone would be desparately trying to get them to grow in their flower beds! :biggrin: I like the delicate beauty of this "puffed ball" stage of the dandelion. IMO this subject seems to call for complete depth of field, or at least clear focus on the front tips of the seedhead. For this shot though, I struggle to find the focus point, which I find a bit disconcerting. A suggestion would be to, instead of making a black background through editing, to place black velvet or some such artificial background behind your subject. That would would allow you to greatly increase your aperture to get more focus throughout, without getting a distracting background.
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Diffley on May 17, 2014 at 8:30 PM
I agree with want Carolyn posted. Here's a link that can give you some other ideas:

http://tinylanscapes.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/fun-with-dandelions-4/
Registered on April 8, 2012, 52 Posts, 279 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Lockhart on May 17, 2014 at 10:23 PM
Thanks for the link, Rick!
Registered on February 19, 2013, 91 Posts, 500 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 18, 2014 at 6:33 PM
Good details, the black BG works well with the 'fireworks theme Jim.
I see you've already got some hot tips going forward..
Well done :wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on May 20, 2014 at 7:51 PM
Excellent look at a dandelion "explosion", with terrific details in the seeds The black background that lets the seeds sing. Because of the 3D nature of the seeds, these are hard to shoot.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments