-- Kaoru Yuli (kaoruy@oneplace.com), September 12, 1998

Answers

I can almost live with the composition and background colors, however, the exposure is technically flawed. The white (and dull) patch of the backlit petal gets all of the attention. In cases like this when the contrast of the subject exceeds the film contrast range I would try to reduce the subject's contrast by a) waiting for a patch of cloud to cover the direct sun or b) I would use a white diffusing screen placed on top of the flower or c) would choose early mornings or late afternoons to photograph the subject. If none of the above is possible, my last choice would be to use the Sunny-16 rule to expose the image. This exposure (1/ISO@f-16) technique would favor the highlights and you lose your saturated background colors. To preserve the background colors, the diffusing screen and gray card (or incident meter) exposure would be your best choice. Good luck.

-- Bahman Farzad (cpgbooks@mindspring.com), September 13, 1998.

Nice composition, could be a great photo. The burned-out (severely overexposed) area unfortunately destroys it completely.

-- (andreas@physio.unr.edu), September 15, 1998.

To: Bahman, and Andreas

Thank you for your comments. As pointed out by Bahman, the contrast was high. I preferred to have somewhat brighter background. Probably I need a diffusing screen to reduce the contrast. The gray card may not help it. Do you know any easy way to make a handy diffusion screen?

I have a question to Andreas. It seems to me that we don't have to show the all details of the flower, since I am not trying to make the picture book. Is it really bad to have a small burned-out (severely overexposed) area ?

Thank you Kaoru

-- Kaoru Yuli (kaoruy@oneplace.com), September 22, 1998.

Kaoru, there is a company called PHOTOFLEX and makes many kinds of reflectors. The one that I use is a 42inch Lite Disc and is made of white translucent material. If you do not want to purchase one, go to a camera shop and look at one. Then go to a fabric store and try to match the material. As long as the material is white and semi- translucent you should be ok. Try to use a large frame (very much like the painting canvas frame) to frame it and to create a soft and diffused light for your subject. Good luck.

-- Bahman Farzad (cpgbooks@mindspring.com), September 22, 1998.

Bahman, Thank you very much for your kind response. It is very helpful.

Regards, Kaoru

-- Kaoru Yuli (kaoruy@oneplace.com), September 28, 1998.