Hybrid African Violet
THE SUBJECT:
My camera club was holding a still life studio night and I spotted these exquisite Hybrid African Violets which were brought in by one of my fellow members.
In real life these flowers are even darker than in the photograph but no matter what I tried this was the darkest I could get them and still maintain a good exposure. Getting the colour just right was also problematic. Still, the end result was close to the money.
THE LOCATION:
Our club room at Port Macquarie Panthers in Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia.
THE MAKING of ‘Hybrid African Violet’:
With so much mixed lighting in the room and not using a flash, I set the Custom White Balance using my White Balance Lens Cap, a very cheap but very good eBay investment.
I had no direct light on the subject but relied on the ambient light in that part of the room and a long exposure.
The background is just a sheet of card the owner brought for the shoot.
Fuji S9600: RAW, Macro Mode, f/4 @ 4sec, ISO80, Manual focus, Tripod, Timer.
Lightroom 1.1 & Photoshop CS3.
Visit the Garden Flowers collection in my BubbleSite Gallery for more home grown floral delights.
UPDATE:
31-08-08
I have just printed this on Ilford Galerie Smooth High Gloss Media and the result is stunning!
Enjoy!
GARDEN FLOWERS
(Click the links!)
Hybrid African Violet
Strelitzia reginae – Flames of Paradise
Crocosmia crocosmiiflora – Montbretia
Acer palmatum – The Autumn Leaves #2
Onopordum acanthium & Trigona carbonaria
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Rita H. Ireland
Awesome! love it!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Rita,
So nice of you to pop in to the studio night and that you are the very first Bubbler to spot these amazing flowers.
Many thanks for your much appreciated and most encouraging “Awesome!...” wrap for my floral efforts.
GB
Dennis
Dawne Olson
Exquisite color! Love the velvety blossoms and glossy green leaves. A wonderful composition Dennis.
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Dawne,
So nice of you to pop in to the studio night and that you have spotted these amazing flowers.
Many thanks for your much appreciated and most encouraging “Exquisite…” wrap for my floral efforts.
GB
Dennis
Joyce Dickens,...
Dennis, my Mom has raised these African Violets as long as I can remember….and that’s a long time :-) this is a perfect capture of there very essence….gorgeous color, contrasts, lighting, all is wonderful!!!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Joyce,
So nice of you to pop in to the studio night and that you have spotted these amazing flowers.
Many thanks for your much appreciated and most encouraging ”...wonderful!!!” wrap for my floral efforts.
Thank you too for the honour of adding this work to your favourites.
GB
Dennis
naturelover
Fabulous colours- this is really beautiful work!!
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Laura,
So nice of you to pop in to the studio night and that you have spotted these amazing flowers.
Many thanks for your much appreciated and most encouraging ”...really beautiful…” wrap for my floral efforts.
GB
Dennis
debsphotos
Stunning image Dennis!!! WOW gorgeous colour and detail!!! Beautiful work!! *-)
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Deb,
So nice of you to pop in to the studio night and that you have spotted these amazing flowers.
Many thanks for your much appreciated and most encouraging ”…WOW…” wrap for my floral efforts.
GB
Dennis
SharonD
Looks lovely Dennis.
Dennis Gay replied
G’day Sharon,
So nice of you to pop in to the studio night and that you have spotted these amazing flowers.
Many thanks for your much appreciated and most encouraging ”…lovely…” wrap for my floral efforts.
GB
Dennis
Dennis Gay
UPDATE: 31-08-08
I have just printed this on Ilford Galerie Smooth High Gloss Media and the result is stunning!
GB
D!
Dennis Gay 19 days ago
G’day cathy savels .... wherever you are …..,
Thank you for the honour of adding this work to your favourites collection. I can only assume by this action that you like it. Please fell free to return any time to let me know just what it is you like about it and how it made you feel.
GB
Dennis