Always fond of the ancient Ginko tree. I have a Montana Fossil Ginko leaf I found, so when I saw this in a botanical garden, I had to have the shot. What I wanted was to have was the foreground bunch of leaves pop, and the background to show the nearly right angle branch structure typical of the plant. Almost, but not quite right. Suggestions?
quixdraw wrote:
Always fond of the ancient Ginko tree. I have a Montana Fossil Ginko leaf I found, so when I saw this in a botanical garden, I had to have the shot. What I wanted was to have was the foreground bunch of leaves pop, and the background to show the nearly right angle branch structure typical of the plant. Almost, but not quite right. Suggestions?
I like the image but to me it is a little dark. My first suggestion is to re-post and click store the original. The one you posted is too small to see the detail.
I think the image is a little dark. Do you want members to post their suggestions?
Swede
Under exposure by 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop. The sky made your subject darker and more obscure. Or you could add a small amount of fill flash.
quixdraw wrote:
Always fond of the ancient Ginko tree. I have a Montana Fossil Ginko leaf I found, so when I saw this in a botanical garden, I had to have the shot. What I wanted was to have was the foreground bunch of leaves pop, and the background to show the nearly right angle branch structure typical of the plant. Almost, but not quite right. Suggestions?
Yes, beside the exposure trouble...
Select something that does not melt onto the foreground. Your point of view is really less than perfect here.
If you have no choice, use a flash to separate the subject from the background. Note the use of flash is NOT FOR FILL.
Swede -- Didn't feel like clearing out copyright info, but always appreciate any comments or criticism.
Mac -- you have a great eye! I typically run 1/3 stop under and Vivid. Idea is to get a little extra saturation and leave a little room for post processing, though I don't do a lot of that.
Rongnongo -- Walk around with DF and 24-85 no flash. Tall tree in the flat average height guy, nothing to stand on. This is what I class as a "stretch" shot (pardon the pun)trying something that may not work. If it works, great, if not, I learn something. I think if I had used a larger aperture, 4.5 so, and switched to spot metering I would have been closer. Never much cared for flash "on my own time" -- more likely to use fast lenses, fast film and push process.
Just a bit of pp gets it nearer. Will be back in the area next Spring, can always try again.
Thanks for the input!
You wanted to capture the perpendicular branches - unfortunately the foreground leaves obscure the part where the small branch grows out from the bigger one. As it is it just looks like branches criss-crossing randomly. You should try to capture the corner of the angle between the branches.
When shooting back-lit subjects like this it helps to use fill flash. And be sure you are on single point focus setting in camera.
Nikon Jon, RG, Thanks for the suggestions!
I second the suggestions on fill flash.
Not familiar with Nikons; does that camera have on-board flash? Can it be controlled to do fill flash?
Does the Geico gecko eat ginko?
No, they "fan out" to find tastier fare.
As to flash, the DF doesn't have one built in, nor will it shoot movies -- both desirable (to me) characteristics.
My feelings on flash are best expressed with a Tom Selleck quote from Quigley Down Under "Never had much use for them." With the same caveat. :-)
The unique beauty of the ginkgo is in the wonderful fan-shaped leaves--at their most striking in the fall. We have one in our yard that gives us five days of exceptional color, especially when the leaves are backlighted with late-day sun. I've had to experiment to get the leaf detail and not let it be overexposed. This would be my suggestion--concentrate on the ginkgo leaves, whether green or golden.
Ashland -- Unfortunately, no Ginko in rural Montana. The ones posted were near Philly -- won't be there again till Spring. This time around I will the have my D 750 as well as the DF, so as others suggested, I can try the fill flash. Thanks for the tip and the shot -- Nice!
Ashland wrote:
The unique beauty of the ginkgo is in the wonderful fan-shaped leaves--at their most striking in the fall. We have one in our yard that gives us five days of exceptional color, especially when the leaves are backlighted with late-day sun. I've had to experiment to get the leaf detail and not let it be overexposed. This would be my suggestion--concentrate on the ginkgo leaves, whether green or golden.
I grew up with ginkgo in southwestern Mass., remnants of a 1905 estate. They undress after the first frost, sometime brown, sometimes gold.
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