Subject: Re: Better flower photos

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 95 15:53:30 EST

Sue Sanders wrote:

IS>The problem I have, and wonder if you have any advice for, is those pesky
IS>blues.  Take a picture of forget-me-nots, gentian, browallia, lobelia,
IS>Geranium 'Johnson's Blue', all of them gorgeous clear blues, and your
IS>pictures come back purple; seems to happen with all films and everybody's
IS>processing.  Other plants, Veronica, for instance, seem to reproduce just
IS>fine.  Do you have any suggestions on how to get more accurate blue
IS>rendition for the problem plants?

The problem is UV reflectivity; some blue flowers reflect UV light
very efficiently (they're like mirrors in that range of the EM
spectrum).  The human eye doesn't see well into the ultraviolet
spectrum, but is sensitive enough for brightness to register.  Color
film is made to ignore UV light (so it doesn't turn blue in full sun).
Unfortunately, this insensitivity to UV means film can't capture the
brightness that the eye sees.

(To those using UV filters on their lenses:  advances in film
technology have made such filters generally superfluous.  UV filters
are still useful at extremely high altitudes, and to protect the front
of the lens in adverse circumstances).

The best solution for blue subjects is to photograph in open shade
under an overcast sky; the diffuse light is rather blue-toned, and
helps to saturate cool colors.  If you try this, use a tripod and
cable release to keep the camera stable at the slow shutter speeds
required.  It also helps to use slow speed (ISO 50 or 100)
high-saturation slide film like Kodak `Elite' or Fujichrome.  Print
film is a poor bet because the photographic papers used in most
printing are biased toward skin tones and do a lousy job on clear
blues.

By the way, I'm a horticultural photographer.  I'd be happy to give
further plant-photography pointers it you'd like.

Richard Shiell, ASLA     Bakersfield, CA     [email-masked]
---
 þ SLMR 2.1a þ Most failed photos were just taken from too far away.

--
Mainframes, Minis & Micros     |     Desert Jewel BBS & Mall
5630 District Blvd.   #114     |     WWW.KERN.COM
Bakersfield, CA      93313     |     TELNET DJ.KERN.COM
LandLine  ==  800-949-1959     |     FTP FTP.KERN.COM