Gladiola

So I took Loupey's advice and went out to the back yard since I didn't have much to time shoot over the weekend. Let me know what you think.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/Gladiola.jpg

You've picked a difficult subject and I think the best way to show it is in pieces instead of as a whole. Perhaps a macro study showing smaller sections.

I love the confusion of colours and shapes, and you have used a good DOF, the water droplets give it a great effect.

Thanks for the comments. I was thinking of trying to get just one bud on the flower, but I couldn't figure out a way to frame it well. I do have some closeups of a different one and I'll try and post one tonight. I don't know anything about flowers, or how to photograph them, but I did like the composition and colors on this one. I wanted to get just the flower in focus and nothing else.

OK, here's another one. Let me know if this is better.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ers/flower.jpg

I don't know if "better" is the right word. Both are good and both are different.

Large flowers are one of the toughest to shoot IMO. I don't know how close/large you can go with your equipment but I would recommend shooting smaller flowers/buds/leaves as they tend to be flatter and easier to work with DOF-wise and easier to select a specific background.

For these large subjects, I agree with payn817 - try isolating a key section which you want to draw attention to the viewer.

Thanks Loupey. I'm more interested in doing scenics/landscapes, but I won't have an opportunity to do anything like that for at least 2 weeks. As you might guess, I don't know anything about flowers. I actually had to ask my wife what the first one was and I still don't know what the 2nd one is :eek: I can easily get closer. I was having some trouble with the tripod I borrowed, but I can work that out. I also got a shutter release cable which should make things easier. That I and will try using my off-camera flashes next time for some better lighting. I don't know if it's normal to use a flash with flowers and such, but I want to start practicing with them and this is about all I'll be able to shoot for now.