Category Archives: Ashe County

Montage-Nancy Bowers

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When Three May Be Better Than One

Nancy Bowers - Butterfly Montage

Nancy Bowers – Butterfly Montage

There were no submissions this week for “Photographer’s Choice” so rather than let a week go by with no new posting, I’ve looked through some of the many excellent member submissions and selected the above to share. It is of course a montage of images captured on an active summer day when butterflies were busy visiting the colorful thistle. Each of these could stand on its own but sometime judicious cropping and arranging can create a more compelling image. This may be the case here. The colors are vibrant, the creatures are captured at different angles and the backgrounds are so similar that arranging the three in an attractive layout works extremely well. Allowing one image to extend beyond its “boundary” creates a different look and perhaps adds interest.

Photographer’s Choice – Phyllis Baynes

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What Makes This Image Special?

Phyllis Baynes - Mammoth Rose Peony

Phyllis Baynes – Mammoth Rose Peony

A flower garden in full bloom is an irresistible target for most photographers with the vibrant colors and easy access usually only a few steps away from the front door. The challenge is to capture something that makes your photo unique and stand out from the other millions taken every year. Not an easy feat to accomplish.
Phyllis had just purchased a new Pentax K-5 16.3 megapixel camera and was anxious to put it through its paces. Her mother’s garden in Warrensville provided that opportunity. The above is the result. Does it pass the test of being “outstanding” compared to the usual? If so, what are the elements that make it so? The light is soft, with no harsh shadows or bright, washed out highlights. The saturation of the color is vibrant but natural without passing into that area where it looks forced. The use of an aperture of f/2.8 in combination with a focal length of 135mm provided a narrow depth of field for a soft transition from the sharp focus area to the background. And yes, the background, or “bokeh”, is perfect-dark and soft with nothing to detract from the main subject and yet it complements the vivid color of the peony. The hint of pink in the upper left corner and the soft green foliage appear natural and pleasing to the eye. As usual when all things come together like this, perhaps a little luck comes into play as the horizontal light green foliage provides a base to support the blossom. At least to this viewer’s eye, this image passes the test of being “outstanding”.