Hepatica and bloodroot

[Steve Foss]

I've been out in the woods for many years and for some reason the bloodroot has eluded me. But not any more. Found this one in the woods off a trail, and found some pretty violet-colored round-lobed hepatica in full bloom, too.

All with the Canon 30D, tripod, remote shutter release, some with mirror lock-up, all with diffusion disc to mute harsh sun

Canon 200 f2.8L, 36mm extension tube, iso200, 1/40 @ f5.6

Canon 100 f2.8 macro, iso400, 1/40 @ f9

100 macro, iso400, 1/30 @ f9

100 macro, iso400, 1/6 @ f32

100 macro, iso400, 1/400 @ f2.8, handheld

[mmeyer]

Wow Steve, those are incredible. My fav is the first blood root, it's simply beautiful!

[DeeDee]

Beautiful as usual. love #2

[Birdsong]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I've been upstairs trying to do plum blossoms in Sumi-E. Couldn't figure out what was wrong with them--I've been painting the stamens at the same angle as the petals as if they were lying flat. Thank you also for posting these beautiful photos. I'll go with the first bloodroot also, though I like the little sprinkle of pollen on the petals of the last. And I vote also for the second hepatica. Very nice.

[jonny_redhorse]

Beautiful Steve!....These are some of my favorite spring flowers....I have a patch of bloodroots not "to" far... I have yet to get to it this year...maybe because I have to walk a mile along a creek to get to it ...

[Dbl]

Very nice Steve, hard to pick my favorite, but the nod may go to #1.

[fisherchick]

As always, beautiful Steve!

[Nymph]

Very nice shots Steve, I like the first two the best.

I have been contemplating getting the 100 macro and these shots are just jabbing me in the sides to do it.

Great work!

[ShawnZ]

All are lovely, you clearly have great technique to match your vision of what you are trying to present. That last image really draws me in, the limited dof does great things in that shot.

[mcary]

Beautiful shots Steve! I'm especially fond of the 2nd.

[buzzsaw]

I like the second one (except wish that the flowers on the right weren't clipped off) and the last one the best.

[dockothebay]

Beautiful images Steve - I love #2, and your bloodroot shots are spectacular as well!

[eyeguy 54]

All nice! I'm voting for #1 even tho there's no vote

[Steve Foss]

Thanks, everyone.

I have been in love with wildflowers for a long time, and cameras allow me to express that appreciation in a way that my poor painting skills can't hope to match.

I've also fallen in love with diffusion and reflection discs in the last several years. I use Photoflex LiteDisc discs, most often choosing the diffusion discs because the sun can be harsh and they render those rays just like a gorgeous luminous light overcast sky. They are cheap, cheap, cheap (about $15 a crack), open to about 12 inches across, and they collapse into a smaller disc about the size of a drink coaster. I carry the small diffuser and small reflector discs in my bag, and also strap on a much larger diffuser disc that collapses into about 12 inches across and expands to nearly 3 feet.

As an interesting point, these were processed on a Mac G4 laptop with LCD screen while I was on the road. I typically process on an older Mac G4 desktop and CRT screen in my home office.

The differences between LCD and CRT monitors are several and well known. But I'll tell you, I just got home a little while ago from traveling and pulled up this thread on my CRT, and even on the CRT, the PP done on the LCD shows up more vividly and crisply than what I'd have typically done from the get-go with this CRT monitor.

My conclusion is this: The LCD is so much more sharp in its ability to resolve the image, and the image feels so much more alive, that I was enthralled, and spent more time prepping the images on the LCD on the road than I usually do from home on the CRT, and I like the results better.

Since my spouse just got a new Mac G5 (the G4 laptop was hers), it looks like the G4 laptop is coming my way tomorrow, and I'll be happy to toss the older G4 desktop and CRT off on a side table as a backup and go LCD all the way. Not to mention the laptop functions so much faster than my older desktop that it's not even funny.

Buzzy, I cut off the hepatica blossoms on purpose just to irritate you. Well, OK, I cut them off on purpose, but not to irritate you.

[buzzsaw]

Quote:

Buzzy, I cut off the hepatica blossoms on purpose just to irritate you. Well, OK, I cut them off on purpose, but not to irritate you.

I know your headed back to re-shoot them young man!

[Steve Foss]

Nope, not going to re-shoot. I shoot flowers to please myself. Although I do have a few frames that have all the blooms instead of cutting them off. Guy's gotta be true to his own vision, all right, but he's also gotta hedge his bets.

[Swimmer]

Great shots as usual Steve. And, thanks for the reminder that now is the time to get into the woods before the woodland wildflowers are done with the show. I'm thinking Nerstrand Big Woods State Park where the Dwarf Trout(?) Lily lives on in a small patch about 30' in diameter (the only patch left in the world!).

[Steve Foss]

Swimmer, good to see you in here again. Sounds like you got a great plan for the trout lilies. That's another species I don't have photographed.

Nymph, the Canon 100 macro does not come with a tripod ring or hood, and they total almost another $200 above the cost of the lens. Check out the Sigma and Tamron 90-100 mm f2.8 macros. They are every bit as sharp and vivid as the Canon for a bit less money, and if memory serves you get the hood and/or tripod rings with them.

Also, the 100 macro makes a wonderful portrait lens, and at least the Canon version has lightning fast focusing, which along with the f2.8 makes it a dandy indoor sports lens.

[dockothebay]

Swimmer - I'd call Nerstrand before you go - we were there May 3rd and the drawf trout lilies were blooming then, I'm not sure how long they last. But I imagine you'd have great photo ops at any time down there!

[Swimmer]

Thanks dockothebay for the info...adds a little urgency to the task. But, you are right...ton's of other stuff to photo like the meadows of ginseng and the falls ect. How was the waterfall running?

And, thanks Steve, good to be here.

[dockothebay]

This was my first trip to Nerstrand so I have no comparison for water at the falls. Here's what it looked like though

[Swimmer]

That's the way I remember it. Nothing fantastic, but very nice. The flow is about average.

[harvey lee]

Beautiful is all I can say Steve.