Re: Photographing irises
Tom Tadfor Little wrote:
>
> I'm no great photographer, but I get pictures that are adequate for
> my records, publication on the web, and occasionally in society
> publications. In my experience, the single most important bit of
> advice is to avoid harsh light. Take the photos when there are
> no shadows--a day that's cloudy but not dark is ideal. You can also
> get dramatic shots when the flower is illuminated but the background
> is in shadow, but these are trickier.
Very good points. If there is no cloud cover, the best light is generally
late afternoon or, next best, early morning. The point being, the light
from lower on the horizon is "softer" and is reflected more. Since it also
travels through more air, more red light is refracted than blue light which
gives things a softer tone. May change the color a tad and you have to be
aware of that. Don't know why afternoon is supposed to be better. I'm
enquiring from some professional photographer friends.
> I confess to using mostly 200-speed film. Yes, the resolution is not
> quite as good as with the slower film, but it gives a little extra
> leeway in photographing with less light--good for snapping hostas
> and other shade plants!
>
> Another rather basic thing I haven't seen discussed yet is to use
> the right aperture to keep all the flower parts in focus but throw
> the background well out of focus: typically f/4 or thereabouts with
> my camera.
Depth of field, as it is called, is dependent on F stop. The higher the F
stop the greater the depth of field. Each lens has its own characteristics.
DoF may be as little as 1/4 inch or as great as hundreds of feet. Of course
the amount of light dictates the maximum setting for your F stop and
shutter speed. Takes some experimenting with your camera.
--
On 30 Sep in -
1939 - Captain Midnight was heard on radio for the first time. The Captain
flew his single-engine plane all over the place, fighting crime. It was so
popular that Ovaltine dropped its sponsorship of Little Orphan Annie to
climb on board with Captain Midnight. Anybody have a secret decoder ring?
1935 - "Calling all cars..." The Adventures of Dick Tracy came to radio
for the first time this day. Based on the comic strip created by Chester
Gould, the 15-minute adventure show was heard Monday thru Friday at 5:45
p.m. -- brought to you by Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice.
1630, John Billington, one of the first pilgrims to land in America, was
hanged Plymouth, MA, for murder, becoming the first criminal to be executed
in the American Colonies.
1659, Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked (according to Defoe).
In 1880, Henry Draper takes the first photograph of the Orion Nebula.
And at the top of the charts on this day in:
1958 - It's All in the Game - Tommy Edwards
---
John | "There be dragons here"
| Annotation used by ancient cartographers
| to indicate the edge of the known world.
John Jones, jijones@ix.netcom.com
Fremont CA, USDA zone 8/9 (coastal, bay)
Max high 95F/35C, Min Low 28F/-2C average 10 days each
Heavy clay base for my raised beds.
