17. March 2010 by Friedhelm.

Thank you Robert Worrell for emailing me this image. It shows how I photograph wildflowers. I cut out the bottom and the back of this small light tent. It serves three purposes:

First: It creates a soft, diffused light which lets me photograph even in bright sunlight

Second: It helps in windy situations to keep the flower stable

Third: I can photograph the flower in the native environment and the cut out back preserves the natural background

I also like to mention that I use a small travel tripod as much as possible and the lowest possible ISO to avoid camera noise as much as possible. My favorite lens is a Canon f.4.0 70-200L lens which is extremely sharp and most of all not so heavy (every ounce counts when you are hiking in the back country). I use it in combination with a Kenko extension tube. I disable automatic focus and use the screen on the back of my Canon camera to pre-focus manually.

Happy photographing!

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17. March 2010 by Friedhelm.

I photographed this California Wildflower yesterday on the Hyte Cove trail.  The official name is Dodecatheon Clevelandii or Shooting Star. The wildflowers are in full bloom and I suggest that you get your camera out, forget your plans and get out into foothills. Since the precipitation was above normal you should find fields of flowers almost everywhere in the California foothills. Don’t forget to bring a translucent reflector to avoid photographing in direct sunlight.

Enjoy and have a great photographic day!

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