Crassula ovata (Jade Tree) bloom - Crits and Feedback appreciated!

erisian pope

Crassula ovata (aka Crassula argentea) flower. Approximately 1.5cm across widest part across the middle.


I grow a few succulents on my apartment porch, but seldom see blooms due to not getting enough sun. So what a treat this is, my first blooms on my Jade tree!

I'm just learning how to use my flash (just got one for Xmas, then built a DIY ringflash assembly for it).


Here's the EXIF from Photobucket (trimmed):

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 20D
Date/Time: 2009:01:04 08:47:04
Flash Used: Yes (manual)
Focal Length: 105.0mm (35mm equivalent: 737...
CCD Width: 5.13mm
Exposure Time: 0.0100 s (1/100)
Aperture: f/22.0
ISO Equiv.: 200
Whitebalance: Auto
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing

I always appreciate feedback and critiques. I'm here to learn, so no need to be gentle!

Thanks!!

GOLDENORFE

welcome to the forum Chritian
im not too good with flowers but looks quite soft,cant see a definate focus point, using too small apperture [f22] does not help with sharpness as magnification increases, try f8-f11 you will get much sharper images.
flower is too central in frame also.
flash does take a bit of practise to learn.
keep practising, look foreward to seeing more soon.
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

erisian pope

Thanks for the feedback, Phil! I shot some at F11 and my DOF was limited to about 1/2 of the flower. Since these flowers are pretty small they don't have a ton of detail, so I found that my pictures where a good bit of the flower is out of focus the picture turned out very bland.

I might try the wider aperture again but a different angle, maybe a total profile view. This will reduce the amount of flower in the pic so what is seen might still be mostly or even all in focus. Your suggestion definitely has me thinking now on how else to improve my DOF issue instead of using such a narrow aperture. Thanks!

As to it being too central - I compose a lot of off-center images but usually there's an out of focus background to give the eye something to look at in the areas where the subject doesn't fill the frame. By using a flash I am causing my background details to be lost (the flower is almost completely sitting on blackness). Would a non-centered composition still work if there is no background info? I'll try it, but I would love your thoughts. I'm a fan of your macro shots especially, so I do very much trust your judgement.

Again, thanks for the feedback!!

Skippy

erisian pope wrote:

Crassula ovata (aka Crassula argentea) flower. Approximately 1.5cm across widest part across the middle.


I grow a few succulents on my apartment porch, but seldom see blooms due to not getting enough sun. So what a treat this is, my first blooms on my Jade tree!

I'm just learning how to use my flash (just got one for Xmas, then built a DIY ringflash assembly for it).

Here's the EXIF from Photobucket (trimmed):

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 20D
Date/Time: 2009:01:04 08:47:04
Flash Used: Yes (manual)
Focal Length: 105.0mm (35mm equivalent: 737...
CCD Width: 5.13mm
Exposure Time: 0.0100 s (1/100)
Aperture: f/22.0
ISO Equiv.: 200
Whitebalance: Auto
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Mode: Auto bracketing

I always appreciate feedback and critiques. I'm here to learn, so no need to be gentle!

Thanks!!

Ohhhhh that's a really pretty little flower, I've not seen one of those before.

Glad to see Phil has giving you some very useful feedback.
So you built yourself a ring flash hey? good for you :ivar
Light is really important for Macro Photography, and can be very challenging for many of us, I include myself in the many

The centre of that flower is just gorgeous !

I hope you enjoy the Forum, and we Welcome you to it.
Don't forget to check out all the areas.

The forum is quite big with thousands of posts you can look through,
also there are TUTORIALS and all kinds of cool things for you to check out.

Thanks for posting, we look forward to you sharing more
... Skippy
.

erisian pope

Thanks for the welcome, Skippy! And for the comments on the picture. Phil took the time to PM me with a further response, and his willingness to offer info and suggestions is fantastic. This place (all of dgrin) is really pretty amazing, and that's all because of the people here. Thank you all for being so open to new blood and so willing to be helpful and friendly.

I'm still fine-tuning the ringflash. I was getting a TON of difference in the amount of light on the side the flash is located on versus the diametric-opposite side. I am working on reflecting the light inside it better to get more light to the far side, as well as fine-tuning the diffusion where the light leaves the flash. This is a real learning experience for me. Thank god for the internet!!