The Importance of Notes in Nature Photography

I have discovered more than once the importance of taking notes and multiple shots in

nature photography. In my case it is usually flower or plant photography. The number one reason is that it gives you a chance to identify the subject. Even if you think you will know by the image, it is wise to record the following:

1. Time of year
2. Plant size
3. Flower color/unusual features
4. Location
5. Leaf structure
6. Soil type (clay, sandy, marsh, etc.)

There may be other features that are important. You can't record too much. Presently I am working on a cyanotype of a beautiful purple/blue flower. Unfortunately I do not know what type of flower it is. I do not know where I photographed it. Even if the image turns out magnificent, all I can do is label it "Purple/Blue Flower". Wish I had taken notes.

Lighting Setup For Tabletop Flowers

Here is a setup that I used when photography some flowers. I wanted a white background. The flash helps with that. I had to stop down to f8 to get a slow enough shutter speed  to fire the flash properly. Anything above 1/250 sec would get the shutter in the way. I also used this setup for the focus stacking experiment I blogged about earlier. It worked well for that. The two 85W daylight fluorescent bulbs give good light. I am happy with the results and will use this setup again.

Photo above taken with setup shown.

Gerbera Daisies

Gebera Daisey

The Flower Photography Mistake I Continue to Make: Dirty Flowers

I spent about an hour taking yummy images of some Gerber daisies that my wife brought home from the home improvement center. The flowers looked to be just fine and I loved the orange yellow petals. I used my macro lens and got in close. I use a technique where I don't use the viewfinder, I just point, focus and shoot. I use this method a lot. But I also took numerous shots composing through the viewfinder.

Here's the rub. After looking at the shots in Lightroom, I saw that one of the daises had aphids along with their stringy web like trials. Now suddenly all the interesting angles and apertures and shutter speeds and backgrounds are less interesting because of the aphid mess.

I wish I could say this was the first time I've made this mistake. But by the title you can surmise it's not. Always check the flowers for bugs, pollen, dust - anything that doesn't belong on the flower and remove it if you can. I soft brush can be used. A squeeze type blower can be used to blow away unwanted items. Choose the freshest  and cleanest flowers for your macro shots and you will be happier with the results.

Tuberous Begonia

Chrisotpher Beane - "Flower" Book Review

I purchased this book straightaway after finding it in the "Bargain Books" at my local B&N. The photographs in this book are incredible. I was immediately inspired to take more flower photographs. The colors and textures of the photos are once again - incredible. I have very few specific favorites - they are all favorites. In quality of photographs I compare this book to Snowflakes by Kenneth Libbrecht, where every photograph is interesting in it's own way. There are several series of photos in the book, and I particularly like the B&W photos, along with the color photos using a simple background. This book would have been worth full price, but as a "Bargain Book", it was quite a steal. It can be found here: Flower by Christopher Beane and Anthony F. Janson .