Garden October 2011 - Bulb in Seed

This was another photo shoot in October. I was experimenting with both using the tripod, and also to see the effect of changing lens on the same image. I used all 3 lenses:

• 17.5 - 45 mm (equivalent to 35 - 90 mm of 35mm camera)
• 40 - 150 mm (equivalent to 80 - 300 mm)
• 70 - 300 mm (equivalent to 140 - 600 mm)

These bulbs add some colour to the garden when most flowers have died. I am fascinated by their colour, the textures of the seeds, leaves and seed pods, plus the leading lines of the leaves. The contrast between the potential life of the seeds and the imminent decay of the pods is another facet of these images.

f/22; ISO 200; 1/25 second; focal length 239 mm

f/22; ISO 200; 1/15 second; focal length 239 mm

f/22; ISO 200; 1/13 second; focal length 150 mm

f/22; ISO 200; 1/13 second; focal length 42 mm

Since I was using the tripod on a still image I could have a low ISO setting, slow shutter speed but narrow aperture to give a large depth of field.

I think the last 2 photos taken with the wider angle lenses are too cluttered - a narrower depth of field would have been better. The widest angle image does not work at all - too many colours and textures.

The first 2 images taken with the telephoto lens are most successful. I consciously composed the image so that the coloured seeds were situated at a Rule of Thirds intersection; the difference is in the shutter speed which affected the exposure.

In addition I took photos with the telephoto lens at 2 wider apertures.

f/8; ISO 200; 1/125 second; focal length 239 mm

f/5.6; ISO 200; 1/250 second; focal length 239 mm


These images have a narrower depth of field because of the wider aperture. The composition is identical to those taken with this lens above. The effect is one of softening of the image.

I finally chose the f/8 image; it has one leaf in the background in focus which gives the contrasting textures I preferred.