I have to say, this series is cheering me up, already. So, without further ado, here are my orange and yellow selections:
First, I was shocked to learn that I had almost no yellow pictures. I wasn't expecting that at all. I don't like orange, but I had more orange ones. Very odd. On my next macro photo shoot, I need to add to my inventory of yellows.
Anyway, thoughts and tips on each picture:
1) This is an interesting picture - it's received very good reviews. For this, I really had to focus on depth of field. I used a very low f-stop to ensure that the background would blur. I wanted the subject to be the full flower. Make sure you are not in bright sunlight when you are taking something like this - you'd lose the intricate details of the flower.
2) This is one of my all-time favorites - it's absolutely gorgeous. This was on a sunny, fall day. I stood under a tree such that some sunlight could stream in, but not too much. I used a relatively large f-stop (f/10) to capture as many sharp leaves as I could. A lower f-stop would have resulted in "strategic blurring", but that's not the look I wanted that day.
3) Speaking of strategic blurring, I actually took this in northern Syria - not the place where you'd expect to see an orange flower. This picture is a great example of how a simple houseplant can look very pretty. This was taken on my aunt's balcony, and I made sure it wasn't too sunny (Syria is very sunny in the summer) by waiting until later that day.
4) Some yellow! Had I a chance to take this picture again, I would have done two things: 1) Made it sharper by holding more still and 2) Either used a lower f-stop to make the background even more blurry or 2) Moved around to avoid this background altogether. It's distracting. I took this several years ago, though, so this was a nice trip down memory lane.
5) This could have been a disaster! The light level was very low, and it was crowded that day. I did not have much time to set up or take this picture. The ISO was bumped ALL the way up - 1600 - and the f-stop was a middling 5.6. A higher f-stop would have removed some of the blurring, but honestly, the light was so low and my "holding still" skills so low that I wouldn't have gotten a shot at all. Also, I made sure the white balance was Tungsten for color fidelity.
6) My worst shot of the bunch. How to fix? Fill flash would have been a start. In this case, though, I would have tried to find the light. Other options are to lower the ISO speed (from 200 to 100) to let in more light, as well as some strategic post-processing. However, brighter light would have made the biggest difference. This picture could have been perfect - it's wonderfully composed. Oh well, at least I have a new project in mind!
Till tomorrow!
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