Rain Soaked Hibiscus Flower

A week or two ago, rainstorms went through the area blowing out the last of summer and bringing cool, fall air.  I went out the morning after and picked up this fallen blossom.  I spread it out and set it up in my little flower studio.  I used a small aperture to create depth and pick up all of the lovely creases in the petals.  I used the gold side of my 52-inch reflector to cast light from the bottom of the flower, offsetting the natural light coming from the top.  I did not want a soft image but rather a sharp, hard, fading and wrinkled flower.  This was its last hurrah before it faded to the soil from whence it came.

 

Morning After

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  8/10s at f/16, ISO160.  In Lightroom, I adjusted the white balance, adjusted light levels bringing the petals up in contrast to the dark background.  I wanted to be sure and capture the whole blossom including the short stem.  I increased contrast and clarity and sharpened the image.  I adjusted the camera scene value, starting with Lightroom’s own Adobe settings and went from there.  In flowers, these adjustments help bring many of the subtle floral colors out.

 

Opposite

In photographic terms, this is the opposite of yesterday’s flower photo.  The image is desaturated, toned and shot at f/2.  Being able to shoot at f/2 was the reason I was shooting with the 50 and the Leica Elpro closeup filter.  I had no idea what exactly would happen but I hoped it would be something like this.  I have one more photo tomorrow.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm, Leica Elpro 4 close-up filter, Nikkor ND +2 filter, on-camera SB600 with Gary Fong Lightsphere bounced off gold reflector.  Black reflector used to absorb some light.  1/800s at f/2, ISO100, Landscape mode.  In Lightroom, I cropped and desaturated.  I adjusted light levels, decreased clarity, increased yellow vibrance, increased black, added sepia through split toning and sharpened.

There are a number of good closeup filters.  Canon makes an excellent one.  I picked up the Leica years ago and it languished for a long time.  It is a heavy thing, beautifully made.  If you use it right, it will give you wonderful images.  Used, they are around $100.  I used Live View on my camera and increased the magnification to 100%.  I then selected my auto focus point and waited while the camera focused.  It is slow but it focuses about as well as if I used the viewfinder and focused manually.

Belonging

Sort of lonely to be the only one of your kind blooming, to pass your peak with no one to notice what you have become.

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm, Leica Elpro 4 close-up filter, Nikkor ND +2 filter, on-camera SB600 with Gary Fong Lightsphere bounced off gold reflector.  Black reflector used to absorb some light..  1/200s at f/11, ISO100, Landscape mode.  In Lightroom, cropped square, increased clarity, increased highlights to make the droplets stand out better.  Sharpened.

One Green Dot

In the evening, after the rain, I saw that a hibiscus bloom had been blown off its bush and onto a small table.  The light was a little strange and I was struck by the green dot on the petal.  What strange bit of nature caused it to appear?  I don’t recall it being there when it was in bloom.  Anyway, as Ed says, a continuation of my dark flower mood.  Still, the colors are amazingly bright, aren’t they?

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/2s at f/11, ISO200, Landscape Mode.  In Lightroom, adusted light levels, increased vibrance and clarity, sharpened and cropped.

Twisted Passion

Red evokes feelings in people; anger, passion, guilt and love.  Red is the color of blood and of sex.  Red is beauty.  Complicated feelings in red…

Hibiscus.  Another in my experiments with flowers past their prime.  I know it is dark, Ed but this photo is not really about flowers.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/10s at f/13, ISO200, Landscape Mode.  In Lightroom, sharpened and adjusted light levels.  Cropped slightly.

Living Bright in the Shadow

Inspired by a nice dip on the pool on a very hot day, I found this hibiscus in a corner of the club’s garden.   The sun was blocked by trees letting mottled sunlight through.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/250s at f/16, ISO200.   In Lightroom, I changed the camera profile to DX2 mode 2 because I find it does a better job saturating on the red end of the spectrum.  I added a little fill light to brighten up the inside of the flower, adjusted light and dark tones, enhanced the yellow, softened up by reducing clarity and sharpened.

White Hibiscus

White hibiscus are relatively small flowers, beautifully white with a deep, blood red inside.  When their time has passed, hibiscus blossoms fall on the ground.  I was interested in the way this blossom fell away from the stamen, like meat from the bone.  My grandmother has a way of cutting chicken for frying.  It is unique and it causes the chicken to cook differently.  When she cooks chicken, which is rare now, all my cousins gather for the treat.  I am not a big fan of fried food and its related cholesterol but mi abuela’s chicken is special.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.   1/8s at f/11, ISO500.  In Lightroom, adusted the light levels and increased vibrance to bring out the color in the petals.  Increased contrast and sharpened.

Open Heart

This is an hibiscus blossom that had faded and found its way to the ground.  Opened up, it reminded me of a heart.  I used natural light for these photos.  I wanted the light to skim the top of the blossoms and leave the rest in darkness; it saturates the colors.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/8s at f/11, ISO500.  In Lightroom, brightened the lights and darkened the shadows.  The adjustments were minimal.  I applied noise reduction and sharpened.

Double Orange Decline

What can I say about these.  I am not happy with them yet, they are my first attempts.  They are too dark, the focus not quite right.  They require effort and planning.

Hibiscus are so vibrant on the bush.   They lead a loud, raucous and colorful life.  Their decay is sudden but even so,there remains an exotic feel.  The colors in these fading hibiscus blooms are subtle and rich, not tropical but vintage.  Like expensive, old drapes in the salon of a 17th century chateau.  There is texture not present in a young bloom, like the wrinkles of an old man whose life has been very interesting.  Almost a smile as life passes away.

Somehow, I feel a bit of myself comes out with them.  Like most men, I keep too much inside and something about these photos lets me express those private feelings.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/8s at f/11.  ISO500.  In Lightroom, added vibrance, brightened lights, darkened shadows, sharpened and applied noise reduction.

Dance of the Veils

I love this hibiscus.  Unlike yesterday’s shot, I wanted more depth of fieldHibis so I stepped back rather than stop down the lens.  The camera was handheld still and a breeze had picked up.  It was noon, the hibiscus shaded by part of the house.  Hibiscus love the sun but a little noontime shade in Texas never hurts.

As I watched the flower, I was struck by how light and dark mingled like swirled chocolate.  I saw the image repeated when I poured half and half into my first cup of morning coffee (it is the only time I add half and half or sugar, the rest of my coffees are black).  Finally, a friend of mine showed me photos he took of ballerinas.  They were practicing in an old warehouse and his lighting was fabulous, the swirls of motion contrasting with frozen, perfect faces.  So, yesterday, it was back to Lightroom.

In Lightroom, I desaturated the image and brightened the light parts of the flower.  I darkened the dark parts.  Then, I went to split toning where I chose a sepia shade for the dark (it is 17 on the slider, if anyone uses LR).  For the highlights, I choose more of a deep reddish purple.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/320s at f/4, ISO160.

I think flower photography more than anything allows me the freedom to explore my imagination.  

In Nikon, the standard ISO is 200 so reducing this lowers noise but also reduces contrast, slightly.  I think it MIGHT give me a little more range of color.