L i l l i e s

I have been sick for the past few days and on the way home from a doctor visit I stopped off to get some prescriptions. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending how one looks at it, the pharmacy is right next to the florist shop. So, being the wonderful husband I picked up some beautiful lillies for my lovely wife Naturally I had to borrow them like always and try taking a few photos before she got home. The first one is yet another HDR attempt. I know it was probably an unneccesary waste of time to perform such a task but I like the results I have been getting on similar subjects and I had te time so I did it anyway. The second is more of a macro shot so that is why I posted in this forum. The HDR is made up of 7 or 8 (I can't really remember at the moment) different exposures. The 2nd is just a "normal" shot. Both with my Nikon D40 and 105mm f/2.8 macro lens again. I'm looking forward to getting back home for the weekend so I can explore them more fully.

Hi James,

Stay well!

Good idea for you to visit the florist. You get double benefit, wife pleased and pictures for us!

The HDR has a unique quality. I like it

I'd add space around the flower, it deserves more!

I am wondering about the edges of the leaves and flowers.

What does this look like in B&W? This will say something about the actual distribution of tones. Seems, perhaps, just an impression, to have missing fine detail in the leaves and petals, although that could be the jpg compression.

Anyway, this is just my view of it. The picture is still wonderful. I guess I may not be yet used to the new esthetic of the HDR images of plants.

Could be that some differential sharpening and blurring would bring it back to the reality I'm used to.

None of this should be considered negative comment. I'm just trying to navigate the different look.

Asher

Hi James,

The pollen stains, and I hope you haven't pet cats. http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/Page/RSPCAFAQTemp&cid=1114778749342&articleId=1123153958756

The first image is interesting, well so is the second, too.

Best wishes,

Ray

It's interestng to know why a plant like a Lilly would be toxic to cats!

Maybe this is due to some toxin against a developing insect pest that happens to be toxic to cats. For sure, the cats didn't hunt Lillies.

But then, why is the plant so beautiful to us?

Asher

Hey James, the first one is stunning!

When I got my first DSLR 2 years ago I was trying to create a nice shot for a birthday card without a macro lense unfortunately. Was one of my first images with my Olympus, hence the bundle of imperfections and obvious errors. But what the Hell, Rachel liked it. <smile>

There's something about the first shot that really captured the satin-ey-ness of the petals. So soft and modulated, nice. It almost reminds me of old botanical illustrations on vellum, where the beauty of the flower is so paramount that the subjects always floats on the page, perfectly presented and free from obstructions or posing.

Thank you Angelica, Georg and everyone else. I have kept the lillies probably longer than I should have and today I was taking a few last shots and turned them over on top of my blue felt poker table. Ray, you were absolutely correct about that pollen staining. That is some nasty stuff, but pretty. I guess it's time to buy some different flowers for the wife.

James,

Don't even think about throwing them out! This is where the plants will become interesting. The pollen will fall, the leaves with dry and the light from a window in the early morning or evening will create a new drama.

There's gold still there!

Asher