It's really Spring this time

The last time I posted, way back in March, it wasn't even officially Spring yet, though it seemed like it because the weather was so warm.  As my Father used to say "if you don't like the weather in NC, just wait a day" Spring has officially sprung now but the weather thinks it's Summer.

I took a walk in my back yard today.  If you read my blog much, you know that my yard is my favorite place to take nature shots.  So today I grabbed my D7000 and a 100mm Macro lens and went for a few flower close-ups. 

A few tips for flower close-ups:
  
Get close, then get closer. A good close up is not "half-way"
   
Depth of field is your friend. If your camera allows you to set the f stop      manually then use a bigger opening to blur the background.

Keep steady.  if the wind is blowing or you are shaking then your flower could be blurry, use your body or a piece of cardboard to block the wind from shaking the flower.

Look for good color contrasts.  See beyond the subject to the background and take it into account, even if the background will be blurred, you will still see the color contrasts.

Think about using a fill-in flash to lighten shadows and make the foreground pop.


Without any further ado, here they are...click on any picture for a larger image.

                                            A couple of red roses (Mr. Lincoln) 
             On the lower one, I desaturated the green from the               background to make the red roses stand out.

 Above: Clematis,  Below: Banana Shrub

 Above: Kale,      Below: White Ladybanks Rose

Above: Trumpet Vine,       Below: Fringe Flower

 Above: Honeysuckle,      Below: Wild Blackberry

 Above: Immature Blueberries,     Below: Rose (Dr. Van Fleet)

Spring is a great time for photography, so grab your camera and get out of the house.

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