Blur Bells

Another one for Jamie Kraft, taken only seconds apart from the previous

image, this one appears warmer because the sun peered from behind a

cloud momentarilly. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most

welcome. Thank You

Hello Alf, Well you've nailed this one when it comes to blur. Quite sensational, and when viewed larger the detail and sharpness of the blue bell is very good. Overall I like the image and effect. Nice.

BR,

Holger

alf,  of your two submissions on the subject of blur,  this would be my choice,  mainly because the lighting here adds a lot of warmth to image.  also nice how flowers are surrounded with both foreground and background being soft ( blurred ).  also square format works well.  a very nice image indeed,  lovely work!

Is this really you?  ;-)  An excellent flower shot with the subject sharp as a tack and all of the supporting cast in background blur as needed... Mike

Very lovely shot Alf. The warmth of color in this one is really pleasing.

This is lovely Alf. Such a delicate and petit flower and you have done a very nice job of 'jamie's blur'. He does do very nice work and I am sure he will enjoy this capture. Soft and delicate. Simple yet so lovely.

Warmest regards, Gail

most intense.  I do like it.  The hyper-sharp look gives it punch, and I see that people prefer it to the other one.

It's fascinating how different the blur is.  I'm petty sure it's not the lighting.  The leaves of the fern are well separated here, while they are continuous in the other one.  best, j

A very creative shot, Alf. I like it a lot, it is quite unusual. The blu®e bells are perfectly placed and the composition with the blurred frond works wonders!

Makes me want to go out and shoot (lately I was traveling again and all I did in terms of photography was a bit of finger poking).

Regards, Tibi

Alf,

  Wonderful image with very creative processing.   I like this image best.  Take care, Patsy

Very nice light.

Simple but very effective, Alf.  Nicely done!

Hi Alf, wonderful to see your work in the flower section! Lovely point of focus with great light and blur! Square format works well in this case. The bluebells are out in abundance this year. Best wishes. Sarah.

HOLGER

Many Thanks for your interest and thoughtful comments, much appreciated. This is all a bit new to me, but I'm reasonably pleased with the results.

Best Regards

Alf

ROGER

It's very gratifying to read your comments knowing your level of expertise of this particular genre. If I attempted this again I would take a mini tripod, I think this was sharp enough where it matters, but its awkward trying to find a spot amongst the flowers without crushing them. I'm not a great fan of square formats, but I think its all about what your used to viewing, after all TV's, monitors, even phones these days are all invariabley landscape orientated. But I concur with you on this one, the square format seems to work.

Many Thanks & Best Regards

Alf

MIKE

I had a personality transplant, but it was only temporary : - ) Normal service will be resumed shortly.  But seriously I see so many really excellent flower images and in particular I was interested in Jamie Krafts blurry things , I thought it was about time I experimented. I'm really surprised t get so much really positive feedback.

Sinvcere Thanks & Best Regards

Alf

MARAN

Many thanks, I'm really pleased you liked it, the sun was playing games, there one minute gone the next, but I managed to capture the warmer tones in this one.

Best Regards

Alf

GAIL

There were lots of bluebells in the woods,  in fact trying to find an isolated one or two was quite difficult, finally I managed to find this one next to the fern which I liked, and the other 20 or so shots I took were deleted, as I mentioned to Jamie, its a lot more difficult than it looks this flowery blurry business : - ) However it's very gratifying to read that you like it. Thank you so much!

Warm Regards

Alf

JAMIE

Sincere thanks for taking a look, much appreciated! I did a little bit of selective sharpening to give it that "punch" but other than that not much was done at all. I noticed that seperation too, and maybe thats where the preference lies with viewers. Though for me I prefer the other one. I'm not at all sure how the difference come about but I suspect it was as you suggested because of the differebnt distance I was from the flower at the time of the respective shots.

Best Regards

Alf

TIBI

Its all a bit new to me. My very first flower images were taken with the understanding that everything had to be in sharp focus, that a few years ago not long after I'd first picked up a camera. One thing this site does is educate you in seeing what is possible, and after viewing numerous flower images over the years I thought I'd have another go using some of the techniques I'd read about. I'm really pleased you liked this one, its great to get such excellent feedback when trying something new. As for your "finger poking" ...........well suffice to say the results are fascinatiing, that cityscape one would look amazing in a large print.

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

Alf

PATSY

Many Thanks for your interest and kind words, I'm really pleased you like this one.

Best Regards

Alf

LESZEK

Thank you for your visit and kind words, the light was a bit hit and miss, fortunately this one was a hit : - )

Best Regards

Alf

JANINE

Thank you so much for your interest and thoughtful comments. I'm glad you mentioned the "simple" aspect of the shot. I took several with multiple bluebells in the frame, but they all looked a bit too busy. I eventually found fairly isolated specimen near the fern and it all seemed to work.

Best Regards

Alf

SARAH

Thank you so much, its really gratifying to read your thoughts on this, as I know you excel at this type of shot. There are indeed a multitude of bluebells this year, the very warm March weather was perhaps a factor in this. Unfortunately they are now in danger of being flattened by the April showers.

Cheers Sarah!

Alf

plus complex lens designs.  I could see the sharpening, but i think it's ok.  best, j

After a little while, photographers when they click on a name, they are expecting certain type of images. When I clicked on Alf Bailey and got this image - my head did an automatic snap back - not in aghast - in surprise but a pleasant surprise. I guess the same would be true of you and a similar reaction if you clicked on my name and you found a series of nude models. Nothing against nude models but i think most people know the type of images I produce.

Now down to this beautiful image! very good job Alf!

It comes down to identifying what is the main subject and what are the surroundings and/or the background. Does the non-subject area add or detract from the value and here I like what i see.

Every image can be tweaked and usually this is based on personal preference.  I would crop a bit at the bottom and the left side giving the bluebells a left side stage position while keeping the fern-like shrub firmly planted on the right side.

I would probably apply a type of vignette to the corners and then questionably, selectively darken the sunny area behind the flower to better highlight the flower.

Thanks for your recent image comments and e-mail of support both of which were very much appreciated.

Nicely composed, blur works very good and the light is right on spot!  Take care my friend!

JAMIE

The sharpening seemed ok to me too, sometimes the "save for web" process can have strange effects depending on the amount of sharpening, but thankfully not this time.

Cheers Jamie

TONY

I'm taking a leaf from your book, and trying to be a bit more diverse, but I find it difficult to stray too far from my first love, which of course is landscapes. This image was the result of leaving the house to walk some 500 yards to a woodland where I live and rummage around until I found some likely looking specimens.  I did take several shots of groups of bluebells, but I didn't like them, they just appeared too busy. So I hunted down a couple of isolated specimens instead and found this one with the fern close by. The crop you mentioned is spot on, and I did toy with the idea of a similar composition prior to posting. I like the idea of a vignette too and again this was another consideration I thought of during the processing. It is quite gratifying to know we were both thinking along the same lines, the only thing I would be dubious about is the selective darkening, not because it wouldn't work, but because I doubt if my feeble efforts in photoshop would render it looking anything like plausible. Sincere thanks for your thoughts and suggestions Tony, very much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

PANAYOTIS

Thank you so much for your interest and positive feedback, I was quite surprised by how many people actually like this.

Best Regards

Alf

Alf, Nicely Isolated, both with DOF and separation from the green leaves.

Very beautiful! Best regards, Ilkka

Don't know what I can contribute that hasn't already been said.  I agree with Roger on this offering being the superior of the two similar images.  I like the way the bluebells are placed against the warmer background here.  Both you and Kathy B are inspiring me to get out & compete with nature as well.  Best, LM.

Many Thanks, it was that seperation that I was aiming for, but it wasn't quite as easy as I thought, thousands of bluebells to choose from, but they never seemed to be in the right place :- )

Best Regards

Alf

ILKKA

Thank You!

Best Regards

Alf

LEN

No one likes the other one Len, I can't thnk why : - ) but the truth is I'm very pleased that anyone liked either of them, and such distinguished and accomplished photographers like Roger, yourself and others that have commented positively. Yes, springs arrived Len, time to get out and blow the cob webs off, though we have just had floods in some parts of the UK, and more rain is forecast, oh joy!  Sincere thanks for stopping by Len,  I really appreciate your feedback.

Best Regards

Alf

A BIG picture from such a tiny subject ! Selective focus at it's best . Beautiful . Bill

I got the idea from Jamie Kraft the legendary "Baron of Blur" I have to confess I wasn't at all sure if it would work, but this one has a lot of very positive feedback, including yours!

Sincere Thanks & Best Regards

Alf

it was a pleasant surprise to see these pictures ! I think you just showed your vision of this "flowery business" ! Like it. It looks like in a moment some dwarfs will show up from under the leaves.... and a fairy tale will begin

Light and blur - both amazing. I enjoy my 50mm as well. All the best, Alf. Tamara

The beauty of simplicity...Nicely done, Alf! Kind regards.