Spring is finally here and the abundance of blooming flowers will soon present an array of interesting photo opportunities. Tulips are one of the first flowers to make an appearance, and are usually photographed in large, backlit colorful clusters. As beautiful as this may be, these types of shots can sometimes become a little monotonous if done too often.
I decided to try something different while strolling through the Central Park Conservatory in New York one day. Using a fisheye lens, I placed the camera flat on the ground in the middle of a bed of tulips. Composition was a bit tricky (to say the least), but I found that I could get a pretty good idea of what the camera was seeing by looking at the reflection on the lens. I pre-focused with the aid of a tape measure to determine the height of the tulips. An aperture setting of f/22 insured that almost everything from the ground up would be razor sharp. I then set the self-timer and stepped back out of the way. “The Awakening” was one of several photos I took that day. I’d like to say that the sunburst in the lower left was carefully planned and calculated, but I can’t… it was pure luck!
So, think a little outside the box the next time you find yourself in the middle of a field of flowers. Instead of shooting everything from your eye level, get down low and check out what the ants see from theirs.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of photo tips by F.M. Kearney on thinking outside of the box when photographing flowers. Be sure to also read tip #2 »
Judging by the posted photo, it’s more like aim high to me 🙂
I guess it’s more like “aim high, shoot low”