tulips I shot last week

[superconnected]

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Okay, maybe someone ought to clue me in on the code to posts pics so I don't get the words "img scr =" on the screen.

I'm an amature photographer - cheap $120 digital camera. Hopefully I'll learn something here.

best,

Kelly

[ET Awful]

1. Hi Kelly!!!!

You don't need to put any code in on DU, just type the URL for the picture, leave out any html code, DU does it automatically.

You WILL learn stuff if you just keep reading and posting, I know I do :).

Very pretty flowers :). Spring is definitely in the air. :). I really like those deep read ones in the first picture . . . very dramatic looking, I don't think I've seen them that color before.

All the pictures are very pretty, so please take the following merely as a way to improve future shots and make them even better, not as a put-down of anything you've done already :).

One thing you might want to keep in mind (especially when shooting with digital) is that highlights can get blown out really easily (for instance look at the really bright spots on your last two pics and how they are pure white and don't really show any detail on the flower anymore). A lot of this can be avoided by shooting at different times of day (early morning and late afternoon you get warmer light that strikes at different angles and doesn't cause as much glare). Your camera may or may not have exposure compensation adjustments, if it does, you can step down the exposure a tad and it will also eliminate some of the washed out highlights.

Your third picture illustrates the highlights problem pretty well. On the flowers that are in shadow, look at all the detail you can see on the white portions of the flowers (little streaks of color and whatnot). If you look at the same portions of the flowers in bright sun, notice how you lose the detail and see pure white.

It's tricky to get the right balance between illustrating how bright the light was and still saving the detail in the highlights. But it's worth the effort when you can capture all the detail :)

I have this problem in a lot of my pictures myself.

[F.Gordon]

2. Howdy

Thanks for sharing your very nice flower photographs.
:hi:

There's a town in Iowa called Pella. Every year they have a "Tulip Festival". Always wanted to go there again. Haven't been since I was a young pup. Fields and fields of tulips... as I recall.

You're using a better camera than I currently have. I think any camera can produce a good photograph once you play around with and get use to it.

Oh... just a suggestion. If you see a thread around here started by this F.Gordon person...don't open it!!! It'll make your brain hurt and your eyes bleed.
:evilgrin:

Again, thanks for sharing Kelly....
:)

[ConsAreLiars]

3. Good work in moving the camera around to compose the images.

The difficulty in direct sunlight is that the range we can see, as our pupils adjust for the bright and shadowed areas, is far greater than film or digital can resolve in a single exposure. You might try again in overcast light or when clouds or something (a friend?) block the direct light so the brightness range is within the capability of the camera. Using a diffuser, just a piece of white cloth, between the sun and your subject helps retain the directionality of the light without the harshness.

[regnaD kciN]

4. And here are a few more pictures...

...taken at the same time and place:















And, in the "great minds think alike" department, compare the following to the second photo in the initial post. Different focal length, but virtually the same vantage point:

[ConsAreLiars]

5. Rosengard Gardens in the Skagit Valley??

I suspected so with the first bunch, the second bunch include some more that remind me of their displays, but I expect that there are some from other farms as well.

The color in the second bunch is less contrasty and much more effective as I see it. Changes in lighting conditions or processing? Lots of them would make great prints or postcards if you wanted to produce them. Very nice!

[regnaD kciN]

6. That's the place, although...

...the name is actually Roozengaarde, or something similar (i.e. Dutch). Spring came early in western Washington this year, and by the time we were able to get up there, it was the only place that still had tulips on display...the fields were long gone.

I think the main difference between the two sets of photos is that the second batch was taken with a higher-end camera (Nikon 5700), which I suspect has somewhat greater exposure latitude.

[ConsAreLiars]

7. It's been a while since I was up there, maybe next year again.

I suspected I had the name off somehow... Those tulip fields are a great place for photography, and the Roozengardes have some great small displays as well as the vistas.

[superconnected]

8. Hey guys, excellent advice!

I didn't even see the problem with the over exposure loosing details except for the last pic looked wierd to me. Now I see it clearly.

also, regnaD kciN, thanks for sharing your photos.

As you guys can guess, he was up there taking pictures of the tulips with me. It was a great day considering I wanted to see the tulip fields but they had been plowed over and all we had left was the places tulip patch gardens in front and around the back. Still, lots of great flowers to photograph though.

I have not yet played with any of my camera settings short of size, so I'll look into what it has. Since it's a cheap olympus d-535 3.2 megapixel, I don't think it's going to have much.

[ConsAreLiars]

9. You can do a lot with that camera.

The main limitations are the size of enlargement possible and the kind of controls you have available to you. If the camera allows you to see the histogram of the image, that display will give you a good idea of how much of the range of color in the scene is being whited out or blacked out.

And, assuming you enjoy photography, the longer you use it the more familiar you will become with what you want that it doesn't have, and the cheaper the upgrade will become.

[Maestro]

10. Very nice shots

I love the colors! I too have been playing around with a cheap digital but plan on moving to a DSLR some time this year. Keep posting!

[F.Gordon]

11. Forgot I had this link for you.........

I've found it helpful some times to see the potential of a particular camera. Yours can do some great macro stuff and you have the ability to do 2 second night shots (if you try this don't forget the tripod).... along with everything else it can do.

http://www.photoxels.com/olympus_d535_gallery.html

[superconnected]

12. thanks for the link

See, I never took a photography class so it's neat the camera can just DO macro photography without me having to figure all the hard photographic stuff out - ie play with lenses, shutter speed, heck even focus..

I know the real photographers are getting sick now and ready to beat me so I'll shut up.