Sunflower Sunday

My wife and I went to the store yesterday to get some supplies just in case Hurricane Gustav decided to head west into Houston. He did not, thankfully, but our thoughts and prayers are with the people currently in his path.
While at the store, I did as I do quite often, and purchased some flowers for my wife and for my camera. Their supply was not what it usually is and nothing really beckoned me to purchase them. There was a bundle of sunflowers however, sitting lonely in a bucket at the end of our checkout stand. I could not resist. I worked with them some in the afternoon sunlight as well as with multiple flash units. The darker, minimally lit ones ended up being my favorites. I plan on trying some different things with them today. It's a wonderful way to spend a lazy Labor Day before getting back to the normal daily grind at work tomorrow.
This was shot with my Nikon D3 and 105mm f/2.8 macro lens. 1/60 sec at f/8 and ISO 200. I also handheld one of my small macro flashes way off to the left for just a touch of light.

James,

It's funny, I still do not accept the idea that mother nature has a son gustav! That politically correct nomenclature is rather silly! One can't simply undo 10,000 years of the rule of mother nature by an involuntary sex change.

You picture of the sunflower is remarkable. It seems so much like a field of flowers with some mysterious crop circle. This is an original point of view!

Asher

Total Eclipse of the Sunflower

Well thank you Asher. I like this particular perspective myself. The center (crop circle) is what really drew me in in the first place. I really appreciate the perfect symmetry of nature as it appears in a lot of different places, especially flowers and plants. The blooms are pretty withered now but I think they still have some more beauty left to explore even in their current condition. You taught me that early on in my OPF experience.

This is just a fun picture I came up with through some Photoshop filter play. My wife really liked it anyway and is getting a print made for our breakfast nook.

James,

So, did you really think of the crop circle too? Maybe there's some psychic link going on! I've never noticed that flattened swirl inside the sunflower platform like that before! I wonder is that a growth stage or just a variety difference or lack of attention on my part?

Asher

Awesome (in the original usage of the word before it was applied to cheese or lava lamps).

I have never seen sunflowers look so predatory -- as if a hummingbird could fly into the center and be eaten.

D

Asher Kelman said:

James,

I've never noticed that flattened swirl inside the sunflower platform like that before! I wonder is that a growth stage or just a variety difference or lack of attention on my part?

Asher

Click to expand...

I have some sunflowers in my photo collection. Some have the circle and some don't. Must be a function of age - and growth - from the sunflower - not you, Asher.

These are very very nice James ...great DOF on the first ... nice touch with the processing on the second. Doug and I have similar feeling on the second ... to me the Sunflowers seem as if they are searching ... looking ... vigilant.

Gary

Thanks for the kind words. I received my 16x24 print yesterday of that second image and I am very pleased with the results. The wife loved it so that's always a good sign. She has the last say on what gets hung on our walls.

This is one more from those flowers. It was really a joke between me and a friend of mine. He used to tell me that my signatures that I put on my photos were gawdy and garish and distracted him and took away from the images. So, I did this one just for him and I quite liked it.

doug anderson said:

Awesome (in the original usage of the word before it was applied to cheese or lava lamps).

I have never seen sunflowers look so predatory -- as if a hummingbird could fly into the center and be eaten.

D

Click to expand...

Gary Ayala said:

These are very very nice James ...great DOF on the first ... nice touch with the processing on the second. Doug and I have similar feeling on the second ... to me the Sunflowers seem as if they are searching ... looking ... vigilant.

Gary

Click to expand...

I'll just join these two gentlemen before me. There really is a nasty feel to these beasts, err, "flowers".

Cheers,

James Newman said:

This is one more from those flowers. It was really a joke between me and a friend of mine.

Click to expand...

Hi James,

Actually, joke aside, it is possible to add one's name and still be somewhat part of the composition should one desire so. One possibility is to cut-out the outline of the text from the top layer, and reveal a lower layer (perhaps with a drop-shadow from the text).

Bart

I have tried to place the flowers in the sun. After all, that's where they belong. So I thought they could hang out by the water and soak in the sunshine!



© 2008 Asher Kelman "Sunbathing" 24-105 at 24mm, 1/1000 sec, ISO 200

I love these flowers. They are so strong and unlike anything else. They seem to be built as landing platforms for a large number of insects at the same time.

Asher

Arrangement

Asher,

I like the warmth and cheerfulness of your sunflowers. They are definitely in our hazy/bright California sunshine. The background is soft and does not take away from the viewer seeing the beauty of these.

Here are mine...


Copyright - Kathy Rappaport - please do not copy
Canon 20d - 50 2.5 (this is an oldie)

Kathy Rappaport said:

Asher,

I like the warmth and cheerfulness of your sunflowers. They are definitely in our hazy/bright California sunshine. The background is soft and does not take away from the viewer seeing the beauty of these.

Click to expand...

Ditto

Cheers,