Crepe Myrtle with bonus plum photo

[melbrackstone]

I just took some photos of my Crepe Myrtle, which is coming back into leaf. I didn't realise how differently the camera would deal with the subject just by putting up a backdrop when I had it set on Auto. I must admit I generally use Manual, but was being lazy today.

I used a very old piece of coolite that's painted black, and which has a lot of scrapes and dings on it. The two images were taken with the camera on Auto, 1/100" at f/7.1, and auto ISO. Because of the dark background the ISO was automatically upped from 1200 on the brick wall image to 6400 on the dark background. That means there was extra light allowed to fall onto the trunk, and therefore much brighter detail in trunk and branches. The photos of the tree were taken on the deck under a roof, so in shade but with fairly good but overcast light outside.

The Plum blossoms are a bonus for Watto. I bought two sub tropical plums early this year, for the fruit....honestly! (might take a cutting or two though.)

[Matt S]

Great photo of a great tree. Well done.

[MJL]

Yeah - truly excellent Mel - the tree and the photography.


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[melbrackstone]

Thanks guys, it's my fav tree.

This is it not long after I bought it in 2015.

[KIRKY]

Looks all the better for your ownership. Lovely flowers on the Plum too.
Cheers
Kirky

[melbrackstone]

Thanks Kirky, I'm really pleased with its progress, I hope I get a plum or two!

[Raging Bull]

It's great how much better the tree stands out with the black background. It's got a lovely structure.
I mostly photograph my trees in front of a pale blue background, but after seeing your results I am going to change that to a dark background.
cheers, Frank.

[melbrackstone]

Cheers Frank. If you use a dark background you do need to make sure your tree is well lit. Otherwise you can lose detail in the background. Luckily the CM is a light coloured tree, and because the ISO was so high, it's dragged out a lot of light to make those branches and trunk stand out.

Bright shade is always a good place to start, rather than sunlight. I'm lucky to have good sidelight coming in under the roof on the deck.

[Watto]

The tree shows more definition with the darker background however the pot colour fades a bit so its always a compromise with the backgrounds. The tree looks good though Mel and may it continue on its road of much improvement.
PS the plum flower looks great!!!!!

[melbrackstone]

Cheers Watto, yes you're right, the container does look a little faded because of the extra light. There are always plusses and minusses...lol at the spelling.

I'm loving the plum blossoms.

[Beano]

The crepe looks amazing now you’ve disguised the long straight a bit and made it windswept. Very nice.


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[melbrackstone]

Cheers Beano!

[boom64]

Lovely tree Mel. The little branch on the right, fighting its way up and then splaying back across the trunk. Like it a lot. Cheers John.

[Sno]

Just beautiful .

[melbrackstone]

Thanks John and Sno, much appreciated!