Garden Center Photography

In winter, during periods without snow, opportunities for nature photography can be rare.  Garden centers / nurseries that carry orchids, amaryllis and other winter blooming flowers provide a possibility.  Knowing that Terrasalis in Malden, WV caries a wide selection of orchid, I decided to see what was blooming.  The orchids were in two different locations: the garden center and the green house.  Lighting in the garden center was a little too low for the best photography.  Colors came out dull and long exposures resulted in blurred pictures due to slight movement of the flowers on long delicate stems. The bright diffused light of the greenhouse proved much more suitable.  I used a macro lens (Sigma 105 Macro) to fill the image with a single, small, intricate flower or a set.  Plants are packed close together making it hard to have a blurred (distant) and uniform background.  Next time I'll bring some matte dark green or black fabric to help with this.  Check with your garden center before bringing your camera in.  Pick a slow time and keep your gear out of the way of customers.  Check out my results in the Orchids Gallery. 

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