HI,
Yes, I hand hold and use flash to illuminate the subject, kill camera
shake, defeat high winds, and also to give all my photos a uniform color!
I find colors on film vary dramatically by time of day, type of light, so
many different things.. By using flash, I have a consistancy to all my
colors. There are negative parts to that, sure. I usually have a black
background, but this can often help to separate a small flower from a very
confusing background.
I've been castigated for this by professional photographers.. but
certainly not by the Botanists and enthusiasts that use my husbands books
for ID. You can't please everyone.. I don't find a great difference in
the colors. Actually, I've only had a couple of problems with reds on
film, but they are mainly when I try to scan the photos and print from
them. I couldn't live without Photoshop. All in all I'm happy with the
colors, and believe me.. there is no harsher critic than the guy who
collected the folower originally and uses the slide to describe the flower
when giving it a name!
I prefer, even when using flash, to have an overcast day. Of course,
that's never a problem when I'm shooting in a forest. Animals, scenics,
those all require different techniques. I can only talk about small
flowers in dark places.
I am working on a collection of aquatic plant photos for Florida. We
did
an ID manual for the Univ. of Florida in 1981, but my collection is still
growing. I had a lot of problems adapting to Florida sunshine and this
certainly changed my habits of photography. I took many of the photos
without flash, at first, but soon decided I preferred using a higher f-stop
and at least fill flash. I'll take closeups of flowers in sunshine by
using an umbrella to cut the light if I have to. Guess I'm just stuck in
my ways.
If anyone is interested in seeing some orchid shots, you can go to my
site
(which I hesitate to recommend because it is really in bad need of complete
overhaul!) and go to the screensaver page for the demo. I want to build an
interactive database of my photos .. but it's a huge project.
snip-----
> I assume from your post that you are hand holding and using flash to both
>illuminate the subject and kill camera shake, but how does the flash affect
>the colour of the orchids in the photo. To me (as a semi-pro wildlife
>photographer) bright sun or flash usually spoil a good flower shot. Bright
>overcast days are by far better but often require a wind tent as its a
>continual play off for DOF against T speed.
snip----
I've been interested in hearing all the comments about the Benbo
tripods..
I have mounted the tripod so I can put the camera within the tripod. I
really don't think it would add anything to the quality of my photos,
though, as with the flash I don't need the steadiness of the tripod. And,
anything I can eliminate from carrying both on planes and on my back
definitely helps.
Kerry
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Kerry Dressler Email: bio-photo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bio-Photo Services, Inc. http://www.bio-photo.com
21305 NW 86th Ave TEL: (352)466-4215
Micanopy, FL 32667 FAX: (352)466-3151
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