Taking pictures?

[SnowyFalcon]

Does anybody have special photographic tricks they use to take pictures of flowers in this genus?  I have taken over 50 photos of my U. sandersonii and this is the best I have gotten.

Now, this picture is not terrible, but I would like it to have a little better focus on the 'ears'.  Does anybody have tips?  I can get Drosera flowers fairly easily, but the Utrics seem to dislike being photgraphed!  

I'm starting to wonder if the shape has something to do with the camera's inablility to take a focused shot of it.  Maybe like the bombers that are almost invisible to radar?

SF

 

[UtricSeb]

SF, with macro photography you need to have good depth of field if you want to get good focus on all flower parts.

To achieve this you need to use a tripod, and shutter priority mode with low shutter speeds and good light. This way you can use high aperture numbers that let you get higher depth of fields.

Regards,

Sebastian

 

[wickedthistle]

It seems to help my camera focus if there's only one subject and a plain background. I aimed my camera just at the base of the ears.

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Thanks to both of you. I will try again with new techniques.

SF

 

[Pyro]

A solid background will do wonders. A steady hand helps too (or a tripod.) I would say you have the basic technique down well and it will just take a little practice. Now if anyone can tell me tips on photoing something really tiny like the blooms on my U. welwitschii I would be all ears

 

[SnowyFalcon]

I'm going to try and get a piece of black velvet, as I've heard that is the best background for photos.  

Pyro,  I suggest taking 50 gazillion pictures and hoping one turns out good!

On a more serious note, take a milk jug lid and place it next to the specimen. The camera will focus on it, and surprise, the flower too.

SF

 

[larry]

SF, what's the mininum focusing distance(in macro mode) on your camera? If this number is too high, it won't matter what settings you have, you'll never be able to take a clear photo of something that small.

 

[SnowyFalcon]

I'm not quite sure how to figure that out, but I can tell you that it can easily get objects smaller than the flower into focus.

Look here: http://home.petflytrap.com/snowyfalcon/D_ScorpiodesGemmae2.jpg

That gemmae was just germinating, so it was pretty small. How would you go about finding the minimum focusing distance? I know I can almost touch the subject with the camera lense when I'm taking macros.

SF

 

[BobZ]

Pyro, I have a Canon A70 without extra lenses. Generally, I set it at f8, manually set the distance by guess, and then bracket the distances with 3 or so photos. I keep the one with best focus. I find it difficult to focus using the viewscreen on the A70. Also, I have a hard time getting the subtle colors with a black background in bright sun. Often the bright parts are washed out. But, that is just my poor technique. A bit of shade is better. For a U. welwitschii example, see
http://www.humboldt.edu/~rrz7001/zphotos/U_welwitschii.html

 

[wickedthistle]

Snowy Falcon, you can look up your camera's specs on the 'net. Should also be in your manual if you have one.

 

[Pyro]

Bob,

Thanks for the tips. I am shooting with a Olympus C-5060, not sure where the F-stop is but I'll look for it tonight. I think my problem is that I have a slight tremor while trying to hold the camera. I might invest in a tripod.

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hey Snowy...where'd you hear about black velvet? lol

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Ummm... I think it was from... it was YOU!!

  Seriously, your pictures always have a nice, undistracting background that really makes the eye focus where it is supposed to.  I'll steal any bits and tips I can!

SF

 

[Tom]

try to have a nice lighting from behind you, and avoiding to use flash, esp. with white flowered species. The flash will 'burn' and fade the color in the flowers... I took so much bad pictures of U.sandersonii and livida to know this If your lighting come from ahead or slightly toward, you can make a reflector around your lense with a piece of cardboard and aluminium paper...

 

[Lauderdale]

SF,  No doubt about it, you need a tripod to take really good macro pics.  I had a very hard time getting a good one of my burmanni flowering until I remembered I have one of those little mini tripods.
Also, I found that very bright sunlight, and we sure got plenty of that down here, tends to wash out the colors.  Wait till a little cloud goes by or try early morning or late afternoon.  The sun tends to be "softer" then.
Did you get my PM about the D.binata dichotoma?  I am interested in burmanni.

I will have to try you're black velvet idea PAK...or mabe even black satin.  

 

[Darcie]

Cute Bunny flowers... Um, I've heard of seting a larger object next to the flower on the same level and focussing on that so both will be in focus... I NEED to start getting some of these plants

 

[SnowyFalcon]

Lauderdale,

I tried to return your PM twice. Each time it said that you were not allowed to receive messages! I finally gave up.

SF

 

[Pyro]

Here is a shot of my U. parthenopipes flower done with the super-macro function and no tripod. Still a little blur from the trembles but better than most of the shots I get.