Okay. I HAD to go back to the Rose Garden one more time but this time it was to see what effect a light rain would have on the soft petals. (See images from my previous visit). I made sure to bring the appropriate gear: camera, lens, tripod, reflector, remote release, Gary Fong diffuser and a few closeup filters.
For this session, I wanted to get a lot of good detail of the roses: petals, moisture, color, etc. So I shot most of these at very high aperture settings which meant relatively slow shutter speeds. But that was okay since I had a tripod and remote release cable.
Moving quickly before the water evaporated, I chose different angles, various heights and zoom/cropping to show these roses from perspectives that people may not be often view roses.
1/50 sec / F20.0 at ISO 100 (227 mm)
1/10 sec / F45.0 at ISO 100 (227 mm)
Okay, so maybe the image above is a bit out of place. The shape of the walking path in the garden caught my eye and symbolizes a way in and a way out of this beautiful and tranquil haven.
Here are a few tips if you want to produce images with deep, vibrant colors and uncommon detail. Who knows, maybe you will be so pleased that you frame a few for that special spot at home.
A Few Tips to Consider
- Always use a tripod
- Pick a good time to shoot: either early in the morning or late evening. Otherwise, wait for an overcast day. Just avoid the middle of the day when there is plenty of direct sunlight
- Use a flash (preferably with a diffuser)
- Experiment with different heights and angles
- Keep notes of what you did so you can repeat what works and avoid what doesn't








