Beginnings

[JimC]

I looked out of a window just before dark and saw someAzaleabuds. So, I grabbed a camera...

I'll look forward to seeing them bloom. I wasn't quite sure what to do with this one (it's a crop from a version with alittle larger angle of view, with a little tweaking and some soft focus added in PP, downsized to 640x480 for web viewing).

Beginnings

[RodneyBlair]

Hi Jim,

I like the composition here and often prefer flowers with a bit of a softer look. I think you softened it too much giving it more of an OOF look.

The colors are also nice.

Rodney

[JimC]

You're probably right.

Thisis actually a group of 3 buds sproutingout of the end of a stem. I couldn't seem to get the best cameraanglefor it (I was trying to keep plenty of green in the background, but I couldn't quite get what I needed in the left side of the frame (despite trying every camera angle I could).

It was getting late out when I took it. I just happend to glance out ofa window and noticed them there, so I grabbed a camera and walked outside.

It was taken hand held at 1/7 second shutter speed using an old 2 Megapixel Nikon Coolpix 950, at a 19mm actual focal length (35mm equivalent focal length of a approximately100mm) in macro mode. Thisis well past the lens' "sweet spot", which is at around mid-zoom.

I didn't want to bump up the ISO speed, so I kept it set to 80, forcing a wider aperture and slower shutter speed. If it weren't for BSS (Best Shot Selector),it would not have been this sharp given the lighting for a hand held shot at this focal length and shutter speed. So, the original is a tad soft, too. ;-)

Here is the original (no cropping or modifications of any kind -- downsized only).

[RodneyBlair]

Since you are after a softer look, how about something like this edit?

Rodney

[JimC]

Rodney, to my eyes, the area at the base of the flower is a bit too harsh. But, I don't like that area in the origiinal, either (which was why I was trying to soften it some).

The buds were rather ugly to my eyes. :-) Here is what they looked like from another angle (with a quarter for comparison so you can see their actual size):

[JimC]

Here is another cropof the samephoto(leavingmore of the stem in the image, yet still using some soft focus in PP):

[ImKayd1]

This is a might too soft for me but given the parameters you were working with I'm surprised you got a shot at all. I like the crop in the last post and the colors are to die for. Would love to see more of this flower.

Suzan

[JimC]

Thanks Suzan and Rodney...

It sounds like sharper may be the way to go here then.

I'll try to take some more earlier in the daywhen I can get a shutter speed faster than 1/7 second at lower ISO speeds (or when I can figure out where I put a smalltable toptripod that I haven't seen since we moved to Savannah last year). :-)