Special Effects Coleus: Another Gallery
On Wordless Wednesday this week, I posted nine photos of three identical coleus plants I added to my garden this year, and the gallery below contains eleven additional images.
Coleus — typically a fast growing annual — is always notable for intense colors throughout its leaves and stems, making it a great subject for close-up photography. This variety’s name is “Special Effects” — that isn’t something I did to enhance the photos — because of the luminous whites, yellows, and reds throughout its leaves. The leaf in the fourth photo below, for example, appears to have added light; but that’s actually how it looks, even in the shade.
Select any image to begin a slideshow; thanks for taking a look!
Exploring Photography: Hydrangea Gallery 4 of 4
The gallery below features the last of the four sets of hydrangea photos I started posting earlier in June. These blooms are Bluebird Hydrangeas, which I planted several years ago at the edge of a shade garden surrounded by holly ferns and hostas, where they seem to be thriving. The presence of the holly ferns created a lot of dark green in the shadows, and provided a unique background for the sixth and seventh images.
For these photos, I put some extra effort into getting appropriate focus where I wanted it, and I experimented with casting light from different directions to learn how that affected the images. The clusters of tiny, unopened blooms were challenging because they extended several inches behind the white petals, creating some confusion for the camera (and the photographer!) with even the slightest motion. I added some last minute sharpening to those sections of the photos only, so that those clumps would take on some shape rather than appearing as mushy blobs of alternating colors. To add light, alter its trajectories, and create a little drama, I simply placed an LED lamp in varying positions near the plants until I got an effect that I liked. All in all: great fun!
Here are links to the previous three sets in this series:
Exploring Photography: Hydrangea Gallery 1 of 4
Exploring Photography: Hydrangea Gallery 2 of 4
Exploring Photography: Hydrangea Gallery 3 of 4
Thanks for reading and taking a look!
