Seeded

I remember a photography magazine article comparing image sharpness

when the camera was handheld and when mounted on a tripod at varying

shutter speeds. The point the article was making was that even at

relatively fast shutter speeds of 125th of a second and faster you could

see that the images taken from a tripod-mounted camera were sharper

than those handheld. I think that article has haunted me for a long time

and why I hauled my heavy tripod to Italy (which stayed in the hotel most

of my trip). I just finished imaging my only sunflower to bloom so far. I

used my tripod with some images and handheld others. None of the

images were great but this one which was handheld proved to be the

sharpest. Comments and critique are welcome.

Beautiful colors and detail. Very well done!

Interesting story! I've come up to similar conclusion while using my 70-300 lens without IS! IE, the steady subjects are always sharp and the moving ones never, ha! Even when 1/4000 sec used!

Best regards Wayne!

PDE

Wayne,

  Beautiful image with amazing details, colors & wonderful background.  I think you have past me up by far.  Take care, Patsy

wayne,  this one is really nice,  especially like the soft blue along the edges.  and the seeds are also much improved, than on other one. wonder what yellows would look like with a bit more oomph,  not saying that is required but would at least have a look at it.  lovely image!

patsy,  would bet it was you who gave wayne the inspiration to look at sunflowers in a new way.  you are considered the queen of the sunflower, by many.  me included.

Mark,
Thanks for visiting and comment. I haven’t been on PN as much as I have wanted this year. I confess I have been studying and learning from artists like you and others and not taking the time to comment as much as I should. Hopefully, I’ll have more time to acknowledge what I appreciate about your work and others.

Pierre,
Thanks. I have to admit that often tack sharp images are not my goal. However, when it is a goal, I find it can be very elusive. So many factors involved – shutter speed, aperture, subject movement, depth of field, how much coffee I’ve had, etc. Sometimes it seems like a crap-shoot.

Thanks, Patsy. Roger is correct. You are the undisputed queen, king, monarch, president of sunflowers. When I get a notice from you I know I am on the right track.

Roger,
Thanks. Again, your “seeing” is admirable. The blue on the outskirts attracted me and as soon as I posted I realized the color did not have the oomph the tiff file had on my monitor. I really appreciate your help.

like♥♥♥

Kiitos, Pekka. I look forward to seeing more of your art.

You obtained excellent focus, detail, and colour with this image Wayne. I can even see that little ant in the middle left of the blossom! As Roger mentioned the blue DOF is very pretty, and it is good you had a bit of shade here as I can tell by the top petals it was a brilliant, sunny day. I have a bit of a difficult time if it is really sunny when taking images of yellow flowers and also reds. The petals have a lovely fresh texture to them. I think this is a marvellous capture!  I understand fully 're tripod - et all', especially when using a Macro lens. At least for me, I find mine  quite heavy, making handheld's a challenge. Cheers for now, Gail

wayne, 

never thought i would be giving advice on a tripod,  as have said before my creativity just goes out the window as soon as i even look at one.  if you have to use one,  really helps to use your camera timer as well,  something as simple as just engaging the shutter release button on your camera can create a fraction of movement, which your camera can and more than likely will pick up. don't think a lot of modern cameras even have the place to screw in release cables anymore.  if yours does that can also be effective.

Hi Wayne. Excellent Sunflower capture! Focus, colours and background couldnt be better IMHO. Have to say I never use a Tripod when taking flower photo's as I like to have more flexibility but if you want really crisp clear images then Tripods are sometimes the way to go. Great work. Regards. Sarah.

Thanks, Gail, Roger and Sarah.  I was hoping this would spark some helpful discussion about tripod use.  

It crisp, sharp and in focus where it should be. Nice colors and saturation!

Thanks, Grigoriy.  Your visit and comments are always appreciated.

Gorgeous sunflower image. Beautifully done, Wayne!

Thanks, Anabela.  Your kind comment is appreciated.

Beautiful image with really nice clarity. Almost all of my photos are handheld because I just don't have the patience and who has the time to set up a tripod to take photos of cats? When I finally get my new camera out of safe keeping (home renovations taking forever) I am going to give a tripod a try with some new interior and still life shots. I still prefer to take my photos handheld and this shot proves it works. Great job, beautiful colors and detail. Thank you for sharing. :)

Trisha,

Thanks.  But I am learning that a tripod can make a noticeable difference in clarity.  Even at high shutter speeds, you can see differences between an image handheld and from a tripod.  A tripod can be cumbersome and a pain to carry around but often worth it.