Near Ocoee, Tennessee. Portra 160VC, Tokina 90/2.5 Macro, Kodak PhotoCD image resized and sharpened in Photoshop.

-- Hal Mothershed (halmot@bellsouth.net), July 02, 2000

Answers

This is a very well-composed and well-exposed shot. Still, I can't help but be bothered by the near flower being unfocused at the top half and in sharp focus at the bottom half.

-- Christian Deichert (torgophile@aol.com), July 03, 2000.

Thanks for your comments. I find it rather difficult to photograph long-stemmed flowers like this because they move around in even the gentlest breeze. My compromise here was less DOF for the fastest possible shutter speed (probably around 1/60 in this case). Are there any tricks for dealing with 'wiggly' subjects like this? I don't expect there's much to be done about the bees, anyway. ;-)

-- Hal Mothershed (halmot@bellsouth.net), July 03, 2000.

I like this one. I think that the out-of-focus flower in the background is essential for the success of this shot. I have seen flower photographers using a setup where they have attached a mosqito net to a contruction that they can put up to slow the wind up. A net is better than a solid material since it lets some wind through, preventing strange air movements on the other side. Might be worth a trial...

-- Fredrik Mvrk (alcedo@euro-photo.net), July 04, 2000.