Flower Photography - A Light Obsession

What does it take to get the perfect close up of a wildflower? Set up a tripod, clip-on camera, then snap, snap it's in the bag, camera, chip.. whatever? Maybe...but consider a few unexpected obstacles first. Finding the perfect clump of subjects (mostly the easy part), stopping (screaming at the stop) suddenly (sometimes interesting along a busy highway)...parking and gathering the necessary gear ( easy) - so my least favorite part, lugging it all uphill and dale. Tripod, camera bag with multiple lenses that never seem to get lighter, and then fun, fun, fun...It seems, seemed a short distance through three fences to where the wild, gorgeous yellow number (nothing exotic - a simple Daisy, but a beauty!), nods in the gentle breeze..but...

Have you ever tried to climb over a fence with a tripod in your hand and a heavy camera bag on your shoulder? "Put them through the fence and follow them", you say! Perfect in theory but as is often the case when I'm ready to shoot, I have a tripod ready, a camera clipped on, slung over my right shoulder with my legs extended, spread apart ready to go (the fact that I look like a giraffe with unclean neck protrusions goes unnoticed) and my camera bag is old, slightly smelly and big!. So how do I climb through the first fence, let alone the second or third in pursuit of the perfect daisy without a lot of leg bending pushing, shoving, and unleashing my precious digital genius first? Simple answer - I don't, I try to get through whatever. Result? The air quickly turns blue around my head and swear words that are neither original nor inventive begin to burst without detaching themselves from my person. And then the final indignity because at least part of my favorite sweater gets snagged by an ever-watchful beard! My alternatives: toss the gear and hope for the best, find a door (how many miles to nearest?), or just leave everything in the SUV...except the digital genius and his favorite 1:1 lens of course!

My final decision? Leave the tripod and bag in the SUV, grab the necessities, and hope the previous night's devastation hasn't taken its toll on traditionally steady hands. So, leaping like a gazelle over fences one, two, and three, I step toward the perfect tuft of yellow. It's late in the season, so all the white daisies are pretty much done - rich, golden yellow that is.

Selecting the perfect specimen is the next step. I have to decide what I'm trying to say in the photo. Perfection with clarity-form of nature, sublime in its attention to detail or organic soft color merging in more color with dark bits - A bit of both maybe. Digital magic, digital freedom - the ability to try anything because you can! I love it. It's a revelation, a deepening of the creative urge to explore new realms at no cost...or at the end, sometimes.

Of course, one can always argue that this leads to a lack of direction, and a lack of planning, but one can also argue in return that he expands his vision, increases his output, and his ability to see the world from different angles. I relish the challenge!

Back to the world of yellow

! Perfect...mmmm. Unable to sort out which of the perfect picks is the perfect pick, I decided to shoot anyway, put pen to paper or rather index finger to the shutter button in order to get the creative juices flowing. As always seems to happen, I relax into it and my mind opens to possibilities: depth of field, the front edge of a petal in focus back edge, and vice versa but mostly my mind is consumed by the warm yellow. Kneeling on the ground upside down in intense focus - La Crosse in the "angle of the air" would not be an appealing sight to any passing observer, but I needn't worry about considerations such as this slight obsession most often leads to splendid isolation

A bit of advice - bear it all (1 each side in ½ stops or thirds if you have a choice), shoot at the highest resolution you can achieve with any model of digital genius you have, and take at least half a dozen shots per chosen angle. Give yourself the best chance to capture the one you really wanted - the perfect image, beautiful enough to adorn your wall, a wall anywhere. where. One feels such an idiot when one has to declare that it didn't quite happen because of the naughtiness of the fingers! Digital genius is defined by the generosity of the trigger finger in other words - repetition is the basis of professionalism. All you need I say. Get vaccinated! The satisfaction is immense.

More tips - check the first few images carefully on the preview screen just to make sure everything is working as it should. Don't end up taking twenty gorgeous black and white photos of a gorgeous yellow daisy - do the grayscale thing in Photoshop! Slow down, and check the first hooks. Check that ISO is set to 100 not 1600 from last night's fun and that all exposure compensation overrides are back to normal (or leave the settings at 1600 by two so weird and crazy is what you are looking for). Little things but in my twenty years as a photographer, these little things become deadly if they are ignored!

So perfection captured, 0 and 1 are secure in the Land Of Flash magic, he's back through the three fences leaping not so enthusiastically now, the gazelle's knees are kinda creaky to kneel on the wet ground - back to the always patient and always reliable SUV. Gear stowed, key in the ignition, We're off...A glimmer of anticipation washes over me!

But never forget the first things to do when you return? Download and save! Forget at your peril. Download and save just in case you didn't get it the first time.