subscribe (^03303331113) Iwww.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 1 June 2019 23
Seeds on Stage
Henri Koskinen
Winner Plants
Occupation Biologist
Flickr http://www.fl ickr.com/photos/aarnijaheka
‘I tried a number of compositions of
seeds hoping to create the impression of
ballerinas on a stage, but coltsfoot proved to be
the most effective. The seeds of this plant areso
delicate and light that I had to spray them with
water to keep them still and stop them from
fl ying away! I shot them on a semi-refl ective
surface as I wanted to create an airy feeling,
and I used a background of blue sky and
white clouds that I painted myself using thin,
transparent watercolours. The colours refl ect
softly off the surface creating an illusion of cool
freshness, while the sprayed water reminds
me of morning dew. This was a planned shot
- I have taken similar pictures before – but I
like it because it asks the viewers to question
whether they are looking at ballerinas on a
stage or seeds covered with dew.’
HENRI’S TOP TIPS
1 Tame highlights and refl ections with a polarise
2 Don’t breathe while shooting as even the
tiniest breeze will make the seeds fl y away!
3 Spray the seeds with water to keep things stil
CanonEOS5DMarkII,CanonEF100mmf/2.8 L IS
USMMacro,plus2xKenkoTeleconverter,1/2sec
atf/9,ISO200.Accessories:tripod,polariser,
remoteshootingsoftware(HeliconRemote).
EditedwithHeliconFilterCanon EOS 7D Mark II , Sigma
105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Macro, 1/1000sec at f/7.1, ISO- Post processing:
Lightroom, image cropped
and small adjustment
made to exposure
A 2x teleconverter
gave Henri some
extra reach© JO ANGELL
© HENRI KOSKINEN