magnolia time Photo

Photographer’s Note

i guess, i gotta apologize for posting 1-gzillionth flower shot on TE. :)) but, alas, it cannot be helped.... it's spring and it's MAGNOLIA time here in massachusetts (yes, there are great many of them here). i am not sure exactly why, but i like this plant in its rugged beauty.

why rugged? well, scientifically speaking, "magnolia is an ancient genus. having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles. as a result, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are tough, to avoid damage by eating and crawling beetles. fossilised specimens of M. acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago, and of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae dating back to 95 million years ago" [credits for putting the facts straight go to wikipedia]...

in the workshop: a couple other magnolia sightings of this year:

-- magnolia attack near leverett peace pagoda
-- baby magnolia establishing herself in the woods near the pagoda

by the way... i discovered this photo looks wayy better if viewed in a dark room... :)

belido, avene, Wandering_Dan, Floydian, Charo, fulvio52, plimrn, giorgimer, gunbud, Benedict, zeca, trekks, gracious, scobert, crckt, Merline, JorgeCK, cfreire has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

belido (16109) 2008-04-29 7:49

Hi Kristaps,

do not apologize...I will be sorry if the moderators don't undertand your post...but I do! Very fine work on this macro. You found a very nice pov where you could frame all those magnolias. It's a lovely shot, well composed. I always find very good explanations in wikipedia...I believe in your note. Great job!
Regards,
Carlos

dlevy23 (2018) 2008-04-29 8:03

Hi Kristaps, how are you? I think posting a photo of a flower is not bad, specially that Spring is here!!!!
Nice composition, love the sharp flower on the center and the out of focus around.
nice colors!!!
Good job.

Daniel

mossphoto (604) 2008-04-29 8:25

Kristaps-

This is the perfect flower shot for TE. The problems come up when someone posts a nice shot of a flower and doesn't include a note. TE is about learning of the world. Your note does just that.

My family is from the South, and we know all about Magnolias. However, most people don't. This post helps to educate people. Even I learned something here. I wasn't aware Magnolias grew so far north.

The photo itself is okay, but not great. I would have liked to see the main flower isolated better from the background. However, the color is great. The quality of the photo isn't the main thing here, the note about the flower makes this post great!

Thanks!

~Vic~

avene (10894) 2008-04-29 8:33

quite some spring explosion, I like a lot how the wide angle has created a great depth to the scene. I also like the tiny and distorted house in the background, makes you think whether magnolia belongs to the house or the other way around. excellent light management, nothing's overexposed.

best,
K.

baba_flies (7941) 2008-04-29 8:47

Hello Kristaps! I like flowers but quite often I leave them out and rather die for landscapes. But this one has something that makes me almost a little dizzy in a wonderful way. It is the unsharpness around your main blossoms in front, it almost goes around when I look at it, and this is so so attractive. You have the impression it almost comes out and you can touch it. My neighbour has a magnolia tree and I always feel sorry when it starts to rain. Very often the blossoms fall off and the splendor goes away too fast. Beautiful work, and what a way to greet spring! Barbara.

danyy (68088) 2008-04-29 9:11

Bonjour Kristaps,
une déformation du grand angle bien visible mais qui ne gêne vraiment pas.
Des couleurs tendres bien printanières et une photo pleine de fraicheur.
On devine derrière un ciel très bleu.
Regards.
Daniel.

Wandering_Dan (3191) 2008-04-29 9:15

Hi, Kristaps -

What's fascinating about this shot is the way the flowers seem to be flowing toward the center, as though you had moved the zoom during the shot. Except that you couldn't have, because the ones in the center are perfectly still. Very nicely done!

Best,
Dan

Floydian (30970) 2008-04-29 10:20

Hi Kristaps,
Ahaaaaaa, Spring is there and you want to show it to the world ;-)
The thumbnail didn't show much, but seeing it in large size i see what's it all about and have to admit it looks great.
I like the sharpness in front while the rest is much softer, it really puts all attention to the main flower which is very good.
Have a nice evening, Henk

npecanhuk (13161) 2008-04-29 10:36

Hello Kristaps!
I do agree with everyone else who told you you shouldn't apologize for one more flower picture!
This one is simply magnificent! The color and the way you used the macro is fantastic! I feel I can touch them and it seems they are all coming towards me!
TFS
Best regards!
Neyvan Peçanhuk - Brazil

Charo (31651) 2008-04-29 10:46

Hola Kristaps,
bellísima toma de estas flores de magnolio en plena florescencia. Estupendos colores y detalles.
Cordialmente
Charo

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-04-29 12:39

Great shot, Kristaps!
And I accept your apologies. LOL!!!
I'm surprised to see Magnolias grow that far up north, I didn't figure they would, as I'm used to see them all the time downsouth, in Mississippi, Louisiana, etc...
This is a finely tuned shot, and I particularly appreciate the funnel effect you've been able to create. The main flower literally blows out on the screen, and at the same time your eye gets sucked into the picture.
VERY GOOD!
The Don likes it!
Have a great day, I'll see ya later.

Fulvio.

plimrn (19558) 2008-04-29 14:26

Hi Kristaps,
Out west, we don't hhave double pink magnolias and they certainly don't have the profusion of flowers you show. This is really one of the lovliest spring photos I've seen; it looks like an explosion of beauty. As avene notes, the light management is impeccable. .
HLJ, Pat

giorgimer (20750) 2008-04-29 15:16

Hi Kris,

it is great to see a similar wonder taken in this spectacular way, stunning view with great sharpness in the middle.

TFS

Gio

gunbud (27585) 2008-04-29 18:27

Hi Kristaps,
Lovely capture of these beautiful harbingers of Northeasters spring. Amazing pink and white colors agains a vivid blue sky background. Excellent informative note.
Regards, Tom

Benedict (7062) 2008-04-29 20:42

magnolias, oh they are so gorgeous as this capture would attest! they look like they are "attacking" yet befreinding the viewers. i have no luck at posting flowers on TE lately, they have all been booted out. i guess the comments of mossphoto will justify all incoming flowers uploads.
a flawless work, Kris.
Benedict

zeca (20026) 2008-04-29 20:51

Beautiful capture, Kristaps! The lights are very good and soft, as the colours. The flower's details are beautiful and themselves as a background by repetition makes a nice effect.
Regards,
Zeca

Greg1949 (8507) 2008-04-30 3:30

Kristnaps, nice effect it appears that there is mption with the blooms, and the sharpness is fantastic, great capture.

Greg

trekks (14262) 2008-04-30 6:49

hi Kristaps

Wow! Really sharp and colorful! Great macro shot. I find the DOF effect that you created here to be amazing.

tfs, bill
later

pboehringer (770) 2008-04-30 7:25

Kristaps,
can you imagine the world 20 millions of years ago without any humans to appreciate this beauty? What a waste! Good that we are now here not only to see this beauty but also have digital SLR's and wide angle to introduce new impressions. The effect of that lens created definitively a worthwhile shot.
Peter

bracasha75 (21707) 2008-04-30 8:07

Hi Kristaps
Spring is the best time in year and this is one of here beauty
Very good poition of view
Cheers,Braca

gracious (20017) 2008-04-30 13:00

Hello Kristaps,
Full of spring atmosphere from this beautiful image of Magnolia!
very sharp with nice colour and superb details in the shot
many thanks for the sharing and enjoy your spring!
cheers
from NZ, Tony

scobert (5333) 2008-04-30 16:21

Hi Kristaps,
You taught me that tobacco is grown in New England and now the Magnolia tree. I thought that these were also strictly Southern trees. The distortion created by the closeup with your ultra wide-angle soom is very interesting. Some very well known landscape photographers use this unusual perspective with some very good results. I like this strange rendition very much! You have included the closeups of the flowers and have included a vast portion of the background which includes a pretty sizable portion of this huge tree as well. I like the results of your experimentaion and keep on posting these most intriguing images!
Stan

MarcT (20983) 2008-05-01 4:50

Hi Kristaps,
That's a wonderful use of your wide angle. It gives a lot of power to the picture. The colours are also beautiful.
Cheers
Marc

chanjits (4409) 2008-05-01 5:40

well captured, well composed with fully wide view and shallow depth of field.

crckt (6979) 2008-05-01 8:27

Hi Kristaps,
I have seen plenty of magnolia shots, none as pretty as this one! Fantastic! This wide angle shot looks excellent, I must say that you've some really cool equipment (a D300 and a 10-20mm lens!!!!)
Regards,
Shaeri

Merline (6574) 2008-05-03 8:21

Huh, I'd love to put my nose just in the middle of this...explosion of beauty! I forgive you a hundred times :-)). This is a creative flower shot, you made an excellent use of the wide angle, it gives a movement to the whole set, which is just lovely to look at. Very natural colors and great sharpness too. Nice wshops and most interesting note Kristaps.

TFS
Cheers
Michèle

JorgeCK (2578) 2008-05-03 17:27

Hola Kristaps,
Nice artistic shot. Love the composition with the distorted background. Excellent sharpness of main Magnolia.
Bravo!!
take care, joRge

cfreire (11647) 2008-05-07 15:14

Hi Kristaps,
Wonderful portrait of these splendid flowers captured with maestria and good POV and framing. The sharpnees, colors and contrasts simply marvelous. Keep up your good work. Regards, Consuelo

nirvana73 (8516) 2008-05-21 7:57

Hello Kristaps
very nice flower MAGNOLIA
peaceful and relaxing shot
thanks for sharing and explanation
regards
Ozhan

Isa-M (4026) 2008-07-31 12:38

Hi...
very nice for our "eyes"...
GREAT shot!
Isabela