Flowers

I shot these photos because of an article I read in Digital SLR Photography magazine. They suggested getting a white or black background and wandering around the yard. Sounded like a good idea, so I went over to RONA and picked up a 4' section of white plastic for $10. After that I took my macro lens and my tripod over to the yard and started looking for photos.

Putting the white background really allows for that studio look in the great outdoors.

This shot of the purple flower and a shallow depth of field came out great. Luckily the sun went behind a cloud a that moment, and gave the little flower a chance to shine.

The worst thing to deal with when shooting macro is movement. Any movement. The wind, your own breathing, the shutter button. Anything that can move the camera even slightly should be avoided. I used a heavy tripod, a remote trigger and if I had to hand hold the camera, I held my breath till I had the shot.

The sun came out on this yellow flower and I liked the over-exposed look. The white background is blown out, and you could be fooled into thinking this was done indoors.

I had packed up my gear when I saw one more photo to shoot. I didn't use the white board, instead allowing the background to underexpose allowing the white flower to stand out. I love the way the petals look like fabric. Flowers tend to be overdone with a macro lens, but they do look good.