This week, Sofia invites us to share our floral images. She doesn’t just ask for photos of flowers, though. She writes, “Let’s see Nature in all its glory and enjoy this beautiful time of the year. Let’s find different angles, play with post editing, get closer or further afield, find strange and unknown flowers and if you want to get some flower friends on the shot, that is allowed too.” You can read her entire challenge post here.
I will start by noting that I’ve already seen many responses to Sofia’s challenge, and the photos I’ve seen from so many are spectacular. By comparison, I see that I need some serious remedial work in floral photography. Some photos, like the one above, were processed long ago. I do not know much about plant identification, so I am trying online plant identification apps. Two different apps suggested this plant is papaver orientale (oriental poppy). Please correct me if I have it wrong.
One of my favorite images is from a visit to a Minnesota state park. This monarch didn’t care that the flower he rested upon is considered a weed.
This flower was on a vine in a park in Hawaii. I used masking in Lightroom Classic to highlight the subject, then inverted the mask and lowered the exposure in the background. This simple edit took only a few moments.
Jez Braithwaite featured several lensball images on his blog a few years ago. Intrigued by the resulting photos, I ordered a lensball and looked for likely places to use it. Like the image of the Bengal Trumpet, I used a radial fill to mask the ball, inverted the mask, and lowered the exposure to completely darken the background.
In 2020, I had a “field day” with my camera at the golden hour, standing next to a sunflower field near Fargo, North Dakota. The state often leads the United States in sunflower production, and when it doesn’t, it’s second only to South Dakota. Other than applying a vignette, I did very little in post processing. The strong backlight from the sun did all the work in camera.
This image was captured in 2013. I have called them poppies for many years, but the plant ID app tells me they are scarlet flax plants. I added some background blur and a filter for this edit that gave the image a watercolor style.
I have an extensive collection of flowers processed to an almost monocolor image. The process is easy. The Color Mixer in Lightroom Classic and the Color tool in Luminar Neo have a Luminance adjustment for each color. I usually reduce the cool color sliders to the left to weaken or remove the color from the image. Once that’s done, there is typically no need to increase the warmer colors. In this image, I left several of the warm color sliders alone.
The hibiscus is Hawaii’s state flower. Well, that’s not precisely true. The Hawaiian hibiscus is the state flower. That species, the hibiscus brackenridgei, is a yellow hibiscus that bears the honor, but seven hibiscus varieties are native to Hawaii.
I seldom process a flower into black-and-white, preferring a monocolor style if I convert to monochrome. This Lily, however, converted to black-and-white beautifully with the help of Silver Efex 3.
I conclude my lens-artists response with this gallery of some of my favorite floral images. Many of these found their way to be framed and hung on our walls. Flowers display nature’s design prowess with color, delicate shape, and scent. Their beauty is inherently delightful but balanced by the flower’s fleeting lifespan. They remind us to cherish beauty and appreciate the cycle of life. I’ve posted several more of my favorite floral images to the gallery on Flickr. To view the entire gallery in HD, visit my Flickr site here.
Thanks to Sofia for a beautiful challenge topic this week. Last week’s Delicate challenge from Ann-Christine was a perfect lead-in for this theme. Next week, it’s my turn to host the challenge. I am looking forward to it. If you’d like to respond to the challenge each week, here are some tips to get started.
John Steiner
Journeys with Johnbo 
There’s just so much loveliness and variety in the floral world, isn’t there? My favourites here are your humble thistle and the sunflowers. Thanks, John!
That is so true, Jo. I never tire of photographing unique blossoms.
So beautiful, John. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the responses for this challenge. There’s always something new, a different look on familiar flowers, it’s inspiring. And so it’s your post too. The sunflower photo is simply breathtaking, perfect in every sense.
Thanks, Sofia! Sunflower fields are truly magical in the golden hour with strong backlight. It’s so easy to capture nice photos, it’s almost like cheating.
Not at all… most people wouldn’t even notice!
Your photos are lovely John! I enjoy flowers in any which way you process it!
Thanks, Aletta. All the credit goes to the flowers. I just record their beauty.
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Wonderful gallery!
The beauty of flowers, is so lovely to capture and see the different possibilities of showcasing them. these are beautiful, sunflower stood out the most for me.
Thanks, Ritva! I really am enjoying this week’s challenge posts. So many beautiful images from so many photographers.
John, your beautiful flowers made me smile this morning. I love the one of the garden where you used the lens ball.
Thanks, Beth!! It’s been fun to see everyone’s beautiful responses this week.
Don’t mind me. I’ll be here just gazing at all this beauty you shared.
Thank you!
Thank you for the nice compliment, Nancy!
Thanks, Nancy!
Wow, John! Beautiful florals and great research. I also liked that you gave us your editing tips.
Thanks, Anne!
😊
Especially like the Monarch!
Monarch butterflies are so beautiful.
Oh my, John, these are spectacular images. Thanks for sharing the editing you did. Like you, I use that technique to darken the BG in order to bring out the subject. I gotta that the Bengal trumpet, sunflower, and orchid photos are my favorites. Beautiful all around!
Thanks for the nice compliments, Egidio. Flowers are so photogenic.
Such wonderful and photogenic variety here – and you brought out the best in them!
Thanks, Margaret!
Loved your choices John, especially the sunflower and the thistle with the butterfly. Hard not to love that one!
Thanks, Tina. Sofia’s challenge has been fun to follow.
Some lovely floral shots here John – my favourites are the sunflowers and the hibiscus
Thanks, Sarah! Flowers make for colorful subjects.
Beauty all around, John – my favourite is….the sunflower. Love that light.
Golden hour and golden blossoms make a great combination.
I love your lens ball image, John
I need to find some more subjects for the lens ball. It is a fun accessory.
A glorious selection of flowers for the prompt. I adore the butterfly on the weed (thistle is a fun weed that the birds and the butterflies love to frequent where I live). Your post was fun to read what edits you chose to use or not use. I do wonder, how do you use the lensball and capture a photo at the same time? Do you hold it, do you set it somewhere and then take a photo?
Thanks, Shelley. The lensball has a square “holder” that includes a standard tripod thread. If you look at the top of the photo, you can see the holder in that image. The holder appears upside-down because the view through the lensball is always upside down. In post processing, the image must be rotated to make it look upright.
I don’t always take a tripod with me for the lensball. The flat-bottomed holder can be set on any horizontal surface. I have put it on bridge rails to capture the river below, or on flat stones. Once it is stable, I’m free to take whatever photo I am planning.
You’re welcome. Thank you for the lesson on the lensball. I appreciate reading how you use it and what works for you. It’s a cool tool!
A great gallery, John. I loved the lens ball and the butterfly. And also your final thoughts reminding us to cherish and appreciate the cycle of life.
Thanks, Donna! Fun challenge this week.
It was, and I am truly looking forward to your inspiration next week.
All beautiful photos. I liked the sunflower the most. It’s like the main flower was declaring itself king, with its subjects behind it. 😀
I like your description of the king sunflower. It does look like the king has many supporters. >grin<
[…] Lens-Artist Photo-Challenge John:…Floral […]
Beautiful flowers. Prep for your AI theme?!?! Nice.
Only in minor ways, John! Thanks.
Oooh, love the hibiscus image, John. Also liked the first picture of the poppies.
Thanks, both favorites of mine. 🙂