plants, i dont get it

[bribrius]

so I worked on insects a little and plants today.
I kind of, sort of see why people like the insects.
I am still lost on how or why for the plants.

I started with simple grass, a setting sun.
I got nothing.
im sure someone could have made something out of it.
I spent more time scratching my head trying to "get it"



I tried the light going through the woods pick to and shooting into the trees the other day.
Lot of those are circulating around.
I didn't really get that either.

I am pretty sure mine aren't coming out as well as theirs.
I need to give things a shot though, even if I have doubts so I figured I would try it once.

Is there like a way and purpose to doing this kind of thing?

Feel free to pick on my pix. I felt like a moron anyway trying to figure out the concept of putting the camera down and shooting through grass.

 

[astroNikon]

You took pictures of weeds?

For those it is more in the details and up close, really close
unless you find yourself in a gigantic multicolored tulip patch
where you can show a larger area
(instead of scattered ungroomed weed patches)

 

[Ron Evers]

Close.




Bigger view.

 

[sashbar]

You need to apply the same basic principles of composition, contrast, colors etc when shooting plants. The advice to start with closeups is probably good, because it is easier to extract some aestetically pleasing order from the chaos that is the nature of the.. well... nature.

 

[bribrius]

well, not all weeds. but none of them are really that great... The weeds was kind of the same idea of the light through the trees kind of thinking. which didn't really work...

 

[bribrius]

You need to apply the same basic principles of composition, contrast, colors etc when shooting plants. The advice to start with closeups is probably good, because it is easier to extract some aestetically pleasing order from the chaos that is the nature of the.. well... nature.

View attachment 75514

I tried that a little. And Thanks. i'll play with it again at some point, could just be something I won't really take too. Was wondering if maybe there was a secret decoder ring kind of thing..

 

[ruggedshutter]

I liked 1,3 and 5 of the second series. You have to use DOF and focus very carefully with close-up of flowers.

 

[bribrius]

I liked 1,3 and 5 of the second series. You have to use DOF and focus very carefully with close-up of flowers.

Thanks. And yeah, I missed. They aren't very exciting either. you think putting on a dress when shooting plants and flowers and such would help? It is making me feel a little feminine and not really going along with my work boots..

 

[Derrel]

"Today, I tried writing a few paragraphs out of the first of fifty chapters of a novel that I plan on being part of a trilogy. I dunno...didn't work out all that great."

I think that's kind of a good example of what your day's photography represents...a teeny-tiny baby step in an area of photography that simply takes a lot of effort and time and sweat before anything "of substance" is created. It takes good subject matter, good lighting, and good location, as well as vision, imagination, inspiration, and skill in order to transform plants into good photographs. To use a writing analogy, today you did not write a novel, nor a novella, nor a short story, nor an essay...you wrote a grocery list, with a couple of notes added in the margins...

Thanks for showing us your efforts; I actually see promise, and I do SEE some of the things that your captured, like the nice quality of the light on the dandelions--that was some pretty lighting! But as far as you being able to "get it" as you wrote, I think it's going to take some time. And a realization that many things are more difficult than they might seem at first glance.

 

[PixelRabbit]

Simplify simplify simplify!! Everything in nature has repeating structure, follow a branch on a tree from top to trunk and you will see the same pattern repeated. When the patterns are on top of each other it becomes chaotic so find single branches and isolate them. The idea is to make that pattern the star of the show so pay close attention to your background and how your DOF and lens choices etc...are rendering it, nervous bokeh sucks in general as does slightly blurred grass and other ground cover. Finally light, decide what you want to achieve and pick the right light to shoot in, want to show sharp bold lines with great contrast shoot daytime with a shaded area as your background so it goes super dark, more delicate subjects and raindrop pictures shine in a delicate diffuse light.
It's all in the details IMHO

 

[MartinCrabtree]

..........

 

[PixelRabbit]

I was on my ipod with my last reply so here are a couple examples...
My black and white plants set (the only set of plants I've got put together)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/judi_smelko/sets/72157634661886785/
And a couple recent ones...

Spring Branches by Judi Smelko, on Flickr




IMG_7773copperflipped by Judi Smelko, on Flickr




IMG_8038-1 by Judi Smelko, on Flickr

 

[bribrius]

thanks judi, I see where you are going there.

 

[bribrius]

tried again a little today with this. Not much. I have a few I think are okay.
here is one. I still have to go through the others.

it is sooc jpeg

 

[bribrius]