It's been a tough year around here for Dahlia growers with the wettest spring in recent history followed by almost no rain at all and extreme heat (90+) for 6 to 8 weeks after that. Overall entries in our local show where less than half the normal amount, but some of the one's entered were indeed exceptional once again!
Anyway, my wife and I are suckers for these big blooms, but had nothing worth showing this year and that was a big disappointment for her. I've posted a few photos from the show that I hope illustrate the beauty and variety of these special flowers. Please consider that most of these blooms are over 8" across with some as big as 12" and you'll realize what I mean about "Big Blooms."
Overall, I think some of the photos turned out pretty good considering the show is inside a local Mall, the flowers are all displayed on tables behind barriers, I shot them all low key style and hand held with my K3's built in flash, and I could not manipulate or reposition the flowers in any way. Your comments are welcome and thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Obviously not just a dalliance.👍🏻
joer
Loc: Colorado/Illinois
Bison Bud wrote:
It's been a tough year around here for Dahlia growers with the wettest spring in recent history followed by almost no rain at all and extreme heat (90+) for 6 to 8 weeks after that. Overall entries in our local show where less than half the normal amount, but some of the one's entered were indeed exceptional once again!
Anyway, my wife and I are suckers for these big blooms, but had nothing worth showing this year and that was a big disappointment for her. I've posted a few photos from the show that I hope illustrate the beauty and variety of these special flowers. Please consider that most of these blooms are over 8" across with some as big as 12" and you'll realize what I mean about "Big Blooms."
Overall, I think some of the photos turned out pretty good considering the show is inside a local Mall, the flowers are all displayed on tables behind barriers, I shot them all low key style and hand held with my K3's built in flash, and I could not manipulate or reposition the flowers in any way. Your comments are welcome and thanks for looking. Enjoy!
It's been a tough year around here for Dahlia grow... (
show quote)
I like them all, especially #4.
All good, like no. 1. Thanks.
They are very pretty flowers, what I did not know that they grew to the sizes you mention that’s fantastic......
Very well done, great shots with a nice black background. Did you use a macro lens with an attached flash?
Very nice use of the onboard flash.
Beautiful. The first one really speaks to me.
No macro lens, just my walkabout Sigma 17 to 85 mm. Most all the shots were from at least 3 feet away, due to the crowd barriers, which is one of the reasons I was really pleased with the final results.
The short reach of the onboard flash explains the dark background.
gvarner wrote:
The short reach of the onboard flash explains the dark background.
The technique for low key photography also includes stopping down the lens so the flash falls off rapidly. It also helps to have some open space behind the subject. Anyway, it works great on flower shots both indoors and out.
Using the max shutter speed for your flash works too. It cuts down the ambient light while the flash provides proper exposure on the subject. With a dedicated TTL flash and setting the camera for high speed sync you can even get a dark background in bright sun outdoors.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.