Claret Cup Cactus

Claret Cup, May 12, 2005
Before I snap the shutter of my camera, I try to make sure that the frame includes only what I want to see in the final photograph. This image of claret cup is a wider view of the same plant shown below. I tried a few different perspectives--using my 200 mm lens. I moved the camera closer and then further away and got a variety of shots. In addition to changing the postion of the camera (using a tripod, of course), the light was also changing. It was partly cloudy, with a few high clouds in the sky. Also I had my diffuser (a large white, transparent circle that cuts the intensity of sunlight, allowing softer, diffused light through to the subject). This image has slightly harsher light than the image below. At first, I didn't like the increased contrast of this image, but on second (third and fourth) thought, I am starting to like it a little more beause it shows more depth, texture, and detail.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about these two images recently because I am trying to print a copy for a friend. The Epson 2200 does a great job making prints, but everything has to be adjusted first. For example, there is the color balance, the contrast, the overall brightness, etc. With these images, I started with the Nikon raw format (NEF) and brought them into Photoshop after making a few minor adjustments... My monitor is calibrated to match colors accurately, and the printer is set up to use those settings, but still, the print never looks quite the way I expect the first time. I am new at this, however, and I predict that one of these days I will get better at doing this and it will take a lot less time. Meanwhile, having spent all this time on these two images lately, I decided to post them here to show people what I have done.
Now, I think I will return my attention to some recent fall color shots, and eventually will return to some photos from spring 2005. After that, I might scan some older slides from previous springs, like spring 2004, when I spent a week during May in northern Michigan in one of the most lush and beautiful forests I have ever seen.