Today’s Image 2024 | Crabapple Flowers
Today’s Image 2024 | Crabapple Flowers Crabapple blossoms up close look like really big flowers. Thousands of them cheer us up on spring walkabouts. Note: I post an image most days at hankconrad.com.
Macro Flowers | a 7 Image Story
Macro Flowers | a 7 Image Story Macro photography allows very close focusing and magnification. Macro photography is new, brand new to me. To initially achieve a few macro images, I used extension tubes to magnify my subjects. My Nikon gear was fairly simple; a Nikon 1 V3 attached to a MOVO 21mm extension tube and an AF-S Nikon 50mm f1.4G lens. It’s much cheaper than buying a macro lens. Then, if I like capturing macro images, maybe I’ll purchase a Nikon Micro lens.
These images came from a relatively short walk. At this time of year, spring flowers are starting to bloom. Luckily, they don’t care about the virus or stay-at-home orders. And, walking outdoors is good for both body and soul. Hey, tomatoes were flowers at one time. Why include them in the post? I just liked this image of locally grown tomatoes. Obviously, this time of year, they’re hydroponic hothouse tomatoes.
Tulip Inside the Tulip Petals, you can see the top to the Pistil called the Stigma in the center. It receives pollen which fertilizes the flower. Around the Pistil, you can see the heads of the Stamen called the Anther. They produce and release pollen. Bees are attracted to the Anther.
Daffodil Daffodils are one of the most popular flowers on my spring walkabouts. Some folks say they symbolize friendship. Daffodil flowers consist of least 50 species and over 13,000 hybrids. They thrive in moderate spring climates. All Daffodils have a corona center trumpet and a ring of petals. The natural Daffodil color is golden yellow with a contrasting color trumpet.
Drumstick Allium This Drumstick Allium, a type of ornamental onion with egg-shaped blooms, is in the process of blooming. It blooms in early summer with oval shaped burgundy colored blooms on wiry stems. The grayish-green foliage provides nice contrast for an image. The word Allium means onion in Latin.
Dandelion Dandelions grow in many parts of the world. The most common variety has a yellow flower. Many folks consider the dandelion as a stubborn weed that never leaves your lawn. Dandelions are one of the early spring nectar sources for a wide variety of pollinators.
Apple Blossom Over 7,500 varieties of apples are grown worldwide. Springtime apple blossoms are one of the most beautiful attributes of an apple tree. This image captures the blossom’s intricate features.
Daffodil Closer Macro photography is all about getting closer and bigger. This image is close enough and magnified enough to clearly see pollen on both the stigma and anther. The stigma receives pollen which fertilizes the flower. The Anther produces and releases the flower’s pollen.
Pine Tree Bud The buds of pine trees create nice contrast for macro photos. Notice the integrated detail. A macro photo shows details difficult to see with the naked eye.
Each image will be posted individually this week with a bit more narrative under category Macro Flowers.
Click any image below for a slide show.
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f16
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f16 An f-stop set to f16 produces a very deep DoF. Now, the entire cluster of flowers in the foreground are in sharp focus and the far background flowers are a bit more in focus. The background out of focus flowers have a even more definition. If the lens was not a 135mm telephoto, the background flowers might be in better focus. However, at f16 and higher f-stops, light infraction may soften the sharpness rather than make the image sharper. For the whole story with all images, see Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story.
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f8
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f5.6
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f5.6 An f-stop set to f5.6 produces a little deeper DoF. Now, the entire cluster of flowers in the foreground are in sharp focus as well as a few background flowers. The background out of focus flowers have a even more definition. In portrait images, the entire person as well as some of the surroundings are in focus. In wildlife photos, f5.6 most of the animal and maybe some surroundings are in focus. In insect images, the insect and all of its surroundings are in focus unless the background is far away. For the whole story with all images, see Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story.
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f4
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f4 An f-stop set to f4 produce a little deeper DoF than f2.8. Now, the entire cluster of flowers in the foreground are in sharp focus and the background out of focus flowers have a bit more definition with deeper color. In portrait images, the entire head and shoulders is in focus. In wildlife photos, f4 still isolates the entire head and shoulder. In insect images, the insect and much of its surroundings are in focus. For the whole story with all images, see Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story.
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f2.8
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f2.8 An f-stop set to f2.8 still produces a reasonably narrow depth of field; just a little deeper than f2. Now, the entire cluster of flowers in the foreground are in sharp focus. F2.8 isolates a medium size area in the frame. In portrait images, the entire face is in focus. In wildlife photos, f2.8 still isolates the entire head. In insect images, the insect and some of its surroundings are in focus. For the whole story with all images, see Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story.
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f2
Depth of Field | Crabapple Blossoms f2 An f-stop set to f2 still produces a very narrow depth of field; just a tad deeper than f1.4. Now, the very front flowers and some of the second tier are in sharp focus. F2 can produce some dramatic images by isolating a small area in the frame. In portrait images, one eye can still be in focus while the other isn’t; depending on the angle from camera to the face. In wildlife photos, f2 still isolates the eye. In insect images, it isolates a larger insect from its surroundings. For the whole story with all images, see Depth of Field | a 7 Image Story.
Hank Conrad © 2024
