Mixed Wild Flower Garden

[Cadmium]

You know those packages of mixed wild flower seeds. My neighbor has an area in his garden planted with those mixed wild flowers, too many types of flowers to count.

Don't know the names of almost any of them.

I didn't have my 35mm lens with me to take a large inclusive shot of the mixed flowers,

I only had the 105mm lens with me, so I only did a few hand held BUG stack shots (UV+Blue+Green shots, UG5 1.5mm + S8612 2mm).

Below are two comparisons of Visual vs BUG stack of two slightly differently colored varieties of the same kind of flower.

 

Flower 1 Visual

 

Flower 1 BUG

 

Flower 2 Visual

 

Flower 2 BUG

[Stefano]

I like those blues! Especially the second one, it seems very natural to me.

 

It would be interesting to take a UV-only photo of a lot of different flowers all together to see all the blues, yellows, whites and blacks. Also a BUG image with a lot of flowers would be interesting.

[dabateman]

Yes I find the damaged or drying flowers sometimes more fun in UV. Those areas and pollen can pop out nicely.

But here in your flower bug 2 you have a nice glow off the flower from the angle shot at.

Looks great.

[Cadmium]

Thanks!

Yes, I think these sets really lack the UV comparison shots, but these are tall flowers, like 3 to 4 feet, and the wind was relentless, I saw no way to make UV exposures without using extremely high ISO.

A UV shot would be very nice to go with the BUG shots, and an overall 35mm shot of the entire group would be what I was thinking of originally.

Maybe another day...They aren't too far away.

[Andy Perrin]

FLower 2 BUG is my favorite of this bunch. That lens is serving you well.

[Adrian]

What camera, exposure did you use please. Very impressive for hand-held!

[Cadmium]

Hi Adrian, The UG5 1.5mm + S8612 2mm stack (BUG, 'Bee Vision', UV+Blue+Green) doesn't need as much exposure time as a UV-only stack.

Because of the height of those flowers and the gentle but constant wind, the setting for the BUG shots above are:

Flower 1 BUG shot = ISO-2500, f/5.6, 1/50 sec.

Flower 2 BUG shot = ISO-2500, f/5.6, 1/60 sec.

White balanced in Photo Ninja.

Visual shots = ISO-2500 also.

Nikon D7000 UVIR, UV-Nikkor 105mm.

[Cadmium]

Here is another flower from that mixed wildflower garden.

UG5 1.5mm + S8612 2mm.

Same Camera, Lens, same settings, exposure = 1/50 sec.

I didn't take a visual of this flower, but it has no pattern to they eye, no green.

 

[Stefano]

So colorful!

[Cadmium]

Thanks!

I think in UV-only all the green and red colors would be black. But would need high ISO to deal with the wind, or flash.

[Bill De Jager]

"Wildflower" seed mixes sold in the U.S. commonly include various cultivated forms. These have often been bred for showiness, but are also better adapted for surviving on their own without garden care than the highly bred selections usually planted in gardens. Beyond that, they also tend to not include local natives, even including species from other continents. This is not a problem for photography by any means, but is a concern if you sow these seed mixes in or adjacent to relatively natural areas.