Valentine Leftovers

I have been so busy with work and projects I have not had much time for fun. I bought tulips for my wife on Valentine's Day because she likes them first of all, and secondly because I like photographing them. These are starting to show their age, like me, but I think it lends a bit of character to them. There is still a lot of beauty to be explored in these. Now that being said, do you think the light from the window blinds is too distracting in this image? I like it but it's probably for reasons that don't make a lot of sense. If I stare at the flower for a few seconds and then look at the lighted blinds portion of the picture, there is an optical wierdness with my eyes that actually makes those lines look like they are moving or constricting inwards. It's like one of those optical illusion puzzles that you stare at and then see something else when you look away or at a white sheet of paper. I know that's not what we look for in a photo but hey, if it makes it seem a little more alive and moving, what can it hurt? Does anyone else see what I am talking about or is it just me?

James Newman said:

do you think the light from the window blinds is too distracting in this image? I like it but it's probably for reasons that don't make a lot of sense. If I stare at the flower for a few seconds and then look at the lighted blinds portion of the picture, there is an optical wierdness with my eyes that actually makes those lines look like they are moving or constricting inwards....Does anyone else see what I am talking about or is it just me?

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Hi James

Firstly I love your tulip curly edges and all I think the curled edges add interest. I like the composition, the diagonal elements, the bold contrasting colours and It's not just you, I think the lines from the blind seem to almost pulsate. Wonderful!

Thank you Janet. I did a few more tonight before saying goodbye to the tulips. These are light paintings using my D200 and 105mm f/2.8 macro lens. I shot a 30 second exposure, ISO 100,
f/22 and lit the flowers with a small MagLight flashlight. I really like the effect from this type of shot.

Hi James

Interesting, although I'm not entirely sure about these two, I like the way the texture of the petals is enhanced by your torch light (I've messed around with torches too!!) I'm not too sure about the composition of the first one, have you tried cropping it so that only the top three tulips are visible, I've just been covering up the lower portion of the photograph with a piece of paper and I think it could look nice, sorry I'm pushed for time so I don't have time to try it myself, I'd be interested to see more though.....

Lush texture that looks like satin and sharp even at 200%. Very interesting technique to use what I believe is a white LCD light source. How did you handle white balance? Showed these images to my wife who is a biotech at a local college, and with your permission she would like to use the last image as a teaching aid as it shows the reproductive structures so well. Thanks -- Rocky

I really have enjoyed viewing the first image of your light paintings James, as it gives me the feeling of age and I also like the overall subtle tones.
The colors, the overall lighting with no real harsh shadows, ..... very nice!