Aging Beautifully

Wisdom in wrinkles shown and shared.

How beautiful.

Bathed in beautiful late afternoon light, I shot this image with a shutter speed of 1/200. My focal length was 60 and my aperture was f/4.5. I didn't use a tripod but did go as close to my window as possible to make use of all the natural light there was. Actually I was lying down on the floor, holding the rose up to the best pocket of light and with my other hand I took the picture.

We need to go where the light is, whatever it takes.

Gentle Pause

Wait. Stop. Breathe. Pause. Soak in the beauty, the stillness, the wonder.

To keep this image looking soft and almost fluid, I used a shallow depth of field - f2.8, blurring out all but the edges of most of the petals. I softened things up a little further in processing, with a preset as well as with some manual adjustments until I was happy with the outcome.

I wanted this image to be inviting, soft, pleasing so I intentionally avoided the fine detail of the petals' surface.

Love Softly

Intensify

Ember's Glow

Romance Remembered

Orange Velvet

She has velvet petals, orange fading to yellow. The textures and tones do not work independently to bring beauty, but rather together. One without other would not be so lovely.

 

I used my 60 mm macro lens to capture this rose. Getting close and making sure many of the edges of the petals were sharp while allowing the rest to flow softly was my goal. Using the right depth of field was crucial.

Experimenting with aperture and taking multiple shots is the best way to find the right settings for each subject choice.

Once captured I brought it into Lightroom to process from RAW. I warmed up the hues and increased vibrancy for this final result.