John, don't hit me: But these shots would make AWESOME jigsaw puzzle pictures. Complex, vibrant, intricate, colorful, and thoroughly engaging. Compositions are flawless, lighting impeccable, and the one criticism I have is that the colors seem a bit overdone to me, too "pushed".
mccaf, for #6 I borrowed Phil's ND8 and added an ND2 on top for 10 stops of filtering. On top of this was also a circular polarizer which is about 1 1/2 stops. So it was very dark to look thru the viewfinder.
Edie, I appreciate your opinion - While pushed maybe a bit, these are actually very close to the way the gardens looked. You'd have to be there in person to believe it.....
Quick question, what time of day did you go to take these? I just moved to the area (3 months in Portland so far) and have had a hard time avoiding harsh light because of my work schedule and the short hours the garden keeps.
What a wonderful collection of colors. #1, 3, 6 do it for me. I might have to try using photomatix in small doses some day, whatever you did worked quite well
smiler, I met Phil right at 10am when they open the gate to the public. A friend of mine (who is a photographer member of the gardens for 150.00 a year) was just leaving after spending the morning there in the fog. By the time we entered, the fog had cleared, but the sky was total cloud coverage and THAT is the key. Go on a cloudy day with no direct sunlight and you'll have better chances at shots like these..... I can't yet justify the 150.. a year to be a member, maybe after I win the Lottery
It works out pretty good though if you sell your work......I just have to sell one big print a year to more than cover my costs...and the early arrival time really makes for a better atmosphere....as well as less congestion.
Thanks for the tips guys, I have only had time to go once, and after waiting for 40 minutes for people to walk off the bridge (trying to capture your shot #3), I can see why going during the early hours is worth the extra $150. Sadly my, day job involves working with lots of people on the east coast. So getting out in the morning is pretty hard for me on the weekdays when it wouldn't be so crowded. However, the flip side of working on east coast time is that I am pretty much always free in the late afternoon if I feel like heading out somewhere for sunset.
Thanks again for the info, and I really liked #1 and #3.
Yea, the gardens are beautiful year round, but when the Japanese Maples turn, it becomes a truly magical place..... don't miss it if you are within a state or two !!
Rags - Very true. There was a recent story in the Orgonian paper on the gardenkeepers. They will easily spend 8 hours on a single tree. Amazing to view their handywork.
Digigirl - those are leafs that have fallen in the water... There are Koi fish swimming around here but they don't show up very brightly.
!!
