Color Galore! POTD 6.20.07
Every once in a while, my DH truly surprises me with how thoughtful and kind he is. This past weekend was one of those times. Our 8yr anniversary was upon us and he took it upon himself to plan the weekend. One of the surprises was to visit the Denver Botanic Garden. It's nice normally, but...I guess in order to take photos, you have to obtain permission and get a release. Well...he did all of this on his own and presented me with the paperwork the day we went. I was so excited...a time to practice all the macro I wanted, while the grandparents watched our DS. I didn't have to worry about entertaining little A, or making sure the sun was not too hot...I could just take photos. While there, my tripod broke, so these are handheld. Thankfully there was not too much wind to jockey. I really tired to work on my composition and placement, wanting to step up the game a bit. When I get them all processed, I would like to do a small scrapbook of the images for I can't get enough of all that yummy color. I kept the pictures to a manageable amount, although I think I have a zillion;) What do you see you like? What can I improve on? Oh, and does anyone have a favorite tripod they can recommend?
22 comments:
These are all really cool....I think my fav. is the second one, kind of reminds me of some kind of white candycoated choc. pieces in the shape of a flower...wierd! I know! As I wrote it I almost erased it:) oh well:) Beautiful, all of them!
What an amazing DH you have! Very well thoughout - for him to take care of the release, etc. I can only wish my DH ever paid attention to ALL my wants and needs LOL! Actually he's pretty good but to do what your DH did would take some extra thinking and I don't think my DH would put in that much effort LOL! Oh well love him anyway. Photos are great!
I love the first 3 the best. The color is so yummy! You *almost* make me want to get into macro..
1, 2, 4 & 5 are my favorites!!!! How wonderful that your dh planned the whole thing--very thoughtful! And HOW GREAT that you had childcare and could just click away.
These are GREAT! And I like your idea of putting them in a book.
leah
These are great, as always. I'm so glad to hear you had a good weekend. Maybe your DH should give my DH some pointers on planning anniversary events. LOL!
good job ms heather... haven't been here in a while but i'm back...slowly but surely...hmmm what do i like? well, i like the texture in #2 and #4... though i'd love to see them a bit closer (filling the frame)...but that's just a personal preference. your colors are great!
ot - how far along are you now?
These are just beautiful! I don't have a tripod to recommend, I need a nice one myself ~ sorry. I was in Denver about 2 months ago and wanted to go to the botannical gardens but we settled for the butterfly pavilion instead ~ good to know you need a release for the future.... Love what your dh did, that is so awesome! What a great anniversary treat.
Wow! These are SO gorgeous! What lens are you using?
I absolutely love the composition in the third one...just lovely!
And, your DH...wasn't that too sweet!?! Sounds like a keeper! :-)
omg i can't pic a fav...they are all SO pretty.....GREAT shots!!!!! LOVE the colors!
Nice macros, I really like 1 and 3.
What an awesome DH! I love #3, the comp and color is perfect, great job :)
What a toughtful husband!! I think your photos turned out fantastic!! My favorite is the water lillies - just something about the color and the tranquility of the water in that one. I love the idea of making a small scrapbook with all these fun photos. You could include some journaling about your sweet hubby and his surprise for you, too.
Heather---OMGoodness! These are just gorgeous!!! I love the first three--just beautiful. Am I on Lauren's blog?? ;)
Love how your dh planned all that out--now that is THOUGHTFUL! Sounds like you had a really nice time. Yay for you!! Sorry about your tripod--that wasn't a good time for it to break! Maybe you'll get one as an after-anniversary gift. ha!
Wow, these are gorgeous! Such amazing color. I LOVE the 3rd shot... it looks so peaceful. And what a thoughtful DH you have... does he give lessons? ;-)
I love #'s 3 and 8. Awesome. The last shot makes me sad for some reason...but I'm weird like that.
Your husband is a real keeper. How tuned in he is, WOW! I'm really impressed. If he's anything like my dh, he'll want to know what everyone is saying about him. Tell him we think he is super FANTASTIC!!!!
Gorgeous shots! And what an awesome gift from your hubby! I have a Manfrotto 728B tripod. Bought it about 2-1/2 years ago at B&H. The sales guy there steered me to this one b/c it can be used with both my camera and our digicam (we video birthdays/christmas morning/etc.) I've used it a lot and really like it. It supports my rebelXT with 24-70L lens fine. Your shots look great with no tripod!
Amazing pictures!! I love the colors, and the lily pad one is great. Wonderful clarity and texture too. TFS
Wow, these are just beautiful! Your DH is just a sweetie for doing that for you, sounds like a perfect day!
You asked me for CC, I don't know how much help I can be (they are really terrific!), but I'll try :) Just remember, it's only my opinion, ok? Ok! Oh, and ANY time you're up to give me CC, I am all ears. I stopped asking on my blog months ago, cuz no one did, but I always love knowing what works and what doesn't!
On all of them, your color is just yummy, so no CC there.
1. Really, I have no CC, though I would love to see the SOOC crop to see if another crop might work better.
2. Same as above, but I am not a huge fan of square crops. Your DOF on this is just perfect IMO.
3. This is just stunning. The colors are to die for, seriously. I feel like the DOF is too shallow on this though, I would love to see a little more detail in some of the other water lilies. I'd also be tempted to try cropping it just a little higher so that the one lily that is clearly in focus isn't quite so close to the center of the image.
4. Beautiful. I love the softness of this, and the DOF. I'd imagine those are teeny-tiny blooms?
5. I really like this. I feel like it might be able to use a touch more contrast, Maybe a softlight layer at 10-20%. Also, does the SOOC show a little more of the bottom of the bloom?
6. Beautiful and soft!
7. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm just not overly fond of this one. I'm sorry! I think part of it is that it is not clear which bloom I should be looking at. Maybe a shallower DOF, or a tighter composition would help?
8. This feels like it's a bit soft. It may not be, but I think in order for it to really work, the bee needs to be in better focus.
9. This is probably my favorite of all of them. The only thing I'd change, is to crop it so that the tilt (which I do like) is not quite as pronounced.
wow these are some awesome closeups, love the detail and the colors!
These are beautiful! I love the 3rd one and the last one. Awesome colors!
These are all beautiful, and what a great gift from hubby! #2 and #3 are my favorites. I like the idea of putting them in a small scrapbook.
You had asked about the mini book I made - I just used chipboard for the pages 3" x 5" for this one (I'm posting another one tomorrow with 3" x 6" pages). My local scrapbook store sells 6"x6" chipboard that I cut in half. I used my CM corner rounder to round the corners, but left the bottom of the first and last page square.I used a wet archival glue to adhere the paper (Basic Grey) to the front and back of each page, let it dry (weighted) and sanded the edges. Then did the embellishing and added photos, punched holes in the top and added the chain (from the hardware store - CHEAP!) Can't wait to see your version!
As for tripods, I have a Bogen Manfrotto 3001BPRO with a ball head and I love it. I can even adjust it to take overhead shots.
Sorry this is such a long post!
That is sooo thoughtful of your DH...he sounds like my DH.
I love these although my favorite isn't really a macro, I love the one of the lily pads? on the water...great composition on that one!
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