Greg Molyneux Photography

New Jersey landscape and nature photography

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Hats Off

May 29, 2019 by Greg Molyneux

100mm low key macro photo of a string of lily of the valley flowers with smooth bokeh.

Hats Off — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | 1/80

Despite my deepest wishes the flowers you see here—lily of the valley—are not late 19th Londoners bustling about Trafalgar Square. Nor are they doffed bowlers hung about a proper mahogany coat rack. No, they are something more than all that—beautiful flowers crafted by nature. Tiny reminders to look small to better see the world; to focus in to see out.

Through the years these little flower hats have caught my eye but never enough to grab the gear and make a proper photograph. That changed earlier this month. It was later in the day and the sky was overcast setting a pall over the evening. Color, light, visibility were all subtly muted adding a proper aura of melancholy. With my macro lens fixed I made it down to ground level to make frames of what I would later learn are lily of the valley flowers. Thanks Instagram friends.

I am satisfied proper with how this photograph turned out. Even before post processing I knew there was a win here. The first frame straight out of camera was money. With eight frames in all it was old number one that best hit the resonant tone of selective focus, bokeh, and light coupled with sound composition. From there it was off to Lightroom finishing school. A smidge of cross processing and contrast tweaks to finalize our array of English gents in hats. In the meantime shall we safety dance?

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: 100mm bokeh flowers lily of the valley low key macro

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Photos from the archives

14mm wide angle sunset photo with pastel clouds and a glassy reflection on oxbow water feature at the salt marsh.
Golden hour photo of cracked mussel shells, docks, and storm clouds.
An evening HDR photograph of a winding waterway adjacent to Dock Road in West Creek, NJ. The blue tone picture features a small beach opening between long marsh grasses with a looming bank across the calm water.
A macro photograph of a several wisteria blossoms. The diffuse processing lends a soft dreamlike mood to the picture.
Black and white Maine Coon portrait photo.

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