Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
Sun in the west. Rain clouds coming in from the north. Tried to catch the color coming through the fresh crape myrtle leaves at f1.4 against the dark sky using the TTArtisan 50/1.4 with the Voigtländer M-to-E adapter.
Crape Myrtle leaves
- Thread starter Gary R. Smith
- Start date
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
I like these two photos tremendously, they have extremely rich, but very natural colors. I think you managed to capture both the nature of the fugitive spring time and the favorable light at the best hour of the day. Those little leaves growing! Then, I also really like the short depth of field with that nice blur. I feel like a bumblebee browsing through those 3D spaces, still numb from the cold past, exploring the New World.
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
The lower part of the first image shows a rare and complex color harmony that comprises red/orange, green, blue/teal and yellow, as in the plumage of a European bee-eater.
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Beth Anthony
Well-Known Member
fantastic color palette. the colors, dark clouds and tones give it a great moody feel.
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
Gianluca, thanks for your comments! For both of these shots I was pressed up against the front of my house while behind the tree (bush?) looking out across the street with the neighbor's cars and houses in the background. While f/1.4 did a good job, I did crop quite a lot of the lower portion away but there are still bits from human-made things in the blur.
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
Thanks Beth! I was sitting in my living room looking out the window and was hoping that I'd be able to catch the light through the leaves against the really dark rain clouds that were coming closer. When I went out, I climbed in behind the tree and the front of my house but couldn't quite get the exact angle that I was seeing from inside. All in all, I liked the way they turned out.
Brian Moore
Moderator
Two fine images. I especially like the 2nd one. The light on the leaves is sublime and so is the OOF (Out-Of-Focus).
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
Thanks Brian! The light is what dragged me outside. I was hoping that f/1.4 would do the trick on the background. It did...
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
My annual shot of the Crape Myrtle in the Autumn...
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
So relaxing and harmonious. I like it!
Gary Ayala
Well-Known Member
The first shot, to my eye, tells a more complete story than the second image. I can feel the clouds, the last touch of sunlight prior to the rain. The colors of the Crepe Myrtle leaves are very very nice. My fav of the set. (BTW- it's a tree.)
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
...and one that drives me crazy between over growing my walkway and the leaves it deposits in my gutter.
I'd cut it down but my wife would kill me.
Gary Ayala
Well-Known Member
We have a couple of them, but they're not nearly as colorful as yours. Yes, they are deciduous, but not nearly as colorful as yours. Maybe the difference in climate ... maybe because it gets colder ... and that cold occurs much quicker/faster up in Oregon than down here which accounts for the leaves turning yellow/brown then falling as opposed to your leaves turning red. I suspect the leaves die off slower here and possibly the quicker death of leaves accounts for the red. (This week we were in the 80's.)
Gary Ayala
Well-Known Member
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
What color blooms does your crape myrtle get? The bark on ours seems to slough off with some regularity.
Gary Ayala
Well-Known Member
In the front the blossoms are Dark Pink. (Mary Lou wanted light pink.) In the back we have two Crape Myrtles. They are both dwarfs with 'Snow White' flowers. The dwarfs are more bush-like than the full size. As to the Bark Shedding, that is normal for the Crepe Myrtle. Typically, the shedding occurs in winter. I guess part of the deciduous process.
