Woodland Grace

A Southern Indiana highland woodland floor in the Spring. I was delighted to see all of these wild Hyacinths growing in the front yard of an old abandoned house on one of my backroad country drives.

Posted by Julie M. Dant on Sat, 04/13/13 11:37
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Comments by Jan Bjorklund on Sat, 04/13/13 11:58

The purple hyacinth and the green grass really captures the sense of the colors of Spring for me. I also like this image without the background at the top of the picture. Great find.


Comments by John Long on Sat, 04/13/13 12:30

Julie, I have masses of these in my garden, but they are not out yet!
Gorgeous blue tones.


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Sat, 04/13/13 13:17

Thanks Jan, for your comments. That strip of trees at the top bothers me a little at one moment...then in the next, I like it's inclusion. On the fence, I guess. lol


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Sat, 04/13/13 13:18

Well, John, if I ever get to come for a visit, I'll have to make it in the Hyacinth's blooming time! Thanks for commenting, friend.


Comments by Chris R. Speaker on Sat, 04/13/13 14:02

Love this shot. Great DOF and very good colors really make the hyacinths stand out well.


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Sat, 04/13/13 20:36

Thank you for commenting, Chris! I wasn't so sure about those trees back there. ;0)


Comments by Michael Meek on Sat, 04/13/13 21:19

The blues and greens are delicious! I'd rather not see the cluttered background or the dead leaves when it's the lovely spring hyacinths that have captured so well that are the stars. Looks difficult, though. A shot from a step ladder would reveal more dead leaves and a shot taken on your belly would reveal more bright spots and dark images.


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Sat, 04/13/13 22:05

Hi Michael..thanks for your nice comment and your thoughts on how to remedy a pickle of a problem. lol I agree with you. I couldn't think of how to do it any differently, either. Some would say..if you don't like the finished product, then scrap it, but I LIKE this a LOT and think the flowers and the colors give it enough reason to live. ;0)
I'm thinking maybe crop the brightest areas at the top off and maybe remove that highest middle flower that sticks up there. And them perhaps I can tone down the brown leaves so that they are not so glaring? I'll work on that and if I think it's an improvement, I will post it in the comments. Thanks again, Michael...oh, and my belly crawling days in the woods are over..LOL


Comments by Sandi MacDonald on Sun, 04/14/13 10:11

Beautiful group of the blooms. You could of taken just a shot of only one bloom with the background blooms out of focus as well. Great find.;-)


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Sun, 04/14/13 11:55

Thank you, Sandi! I wish I'd thought of it. So many missed opportunities on our road trips. My husband is sweet enough to drive me all over creation and will take a newspaper to read while I am tramping around an old house..but the whole time, even though he is very patient, I'm aware of how long I am taking...so I tend to hurry through the shooting. Thanks for your comments and suggestion for the next time! ;0))


Comments by Jeff Dye on Sun, 04/14/13 17:13

IMO you've included too much in the comp. I realize you're working under some self
imposed pressure but try to see an excellent scene like this beyond the ordinary. I'll
guess that you're using a point and shoot type camera because the background is so
sharp. If I'm right about the camera you need to be very selective about backgrounds or
you'll end up with sharp clutter. What I'm seeing is the row of little eyeballs near the left
side, sharp in front and getting softer towards the back. Takes a fast lens to do that
though.


Comments by Julie M. Dant on Fri, 04/26/13 15:19

Hi Jeff! I've missed your always kindly constructive comments. I learned MUCH from you. ..exCEPT, lol, how to get the correct bokeh! ;0( I was shooting on auto. I've not used manual much, but am just beginning to 'play' with it a lot to get used to using it. I will get it...I'm just a slow learner. B-) I DO appreciate, always, your suggestions and statements on how you might have done it. You are very kind to want to help people in this way. Thanks Jeff.