Stargazer Lillies and new digs!

Finally. FINALLY. FINALLY!!!! I have a place to put my backdrop and lights and space to play!!! Yippee! The front "Formal" Living room is basically empty and mine to play in. So what did I take pictures of first? Yep, Flowers! The staple of the bored photographer. Yet not so bored for me, they were a mothers day gift for my wife, but were playing havoc with her sinuses due to strong fragrance. So they HAD to go, but pictures were requested. So the photographer in shining armor sallied forth to immortalize the... uh.... offending flora.

Anyway, varying flash positions etc... was a LOT of fun, I used my two BEST lenses my DA*55mm f1.4 and DFA 100mm f2.8 WR Macro, live view for perfect focusing, and quickly got them done. Here are my results, wishing I would have had more time before sending them off. So many more possibilities!

Boids......

Nothing too special, just a bunch of boids. All with DA 55-300 while taking a walk around the lake.

Mixed Lighting is a CHALLENGE!!!

One of the hardest things to deal with when photographing temples, or other buildings at night, is the color of the light. Which is why I always, ALWAYS use RAW files, that way I can adjust the appearance of the colors to more closely match what my (and your) eye sees. When there are two or more light sources that have different colors things get really really REALLY tough. Which setting will give me the best mix and look to the photo? This temple has stymied me, I always end up with too much green when everything else looks decent. I have started doing multiple layers and desaturating the green/aqua and masking/blending to finally get something that looks semi decent. I don't think I have it perfect yet, but I am getting closer!

Technical notes: All these are HDR composites, with exposures up to 30 seconds. The clouds are real. As always, shot on a tripod with cable release and in RAW, using either my Sigma 17-70 or 10-20 lenses.

Stopping on my way home from the Temple gave me an opportunity to try a shot I have WANTED for years. I think I am getting closer. Both of these with my SMC 200mm f2.5 lens.