Pretty Trespasser

MPP26 and JJRW have informed me this is a lily: Lilium Longiflorum (I really don't know my plants). Anyway, I've noticed these all over the place beside the Great Western Highway this week, and then we spotted one poking through from our neighbours' place.

I took a photo with the Pentax lens, then thought that I should take some (auto and manual focus) with my standard Lumix lens for comparison's sake. When I got them on the iPad I found the Pentax one was overexposed; it all looked good except for blown-out highlights at the curves of the higher petals. I then went out and took some more with the Pentax lens. I couldn't increase the shutter speed, as it maxes out at 1/4000" - so I had to pull back the f-stop. I shot with a few different ones, and found f/2.8 to be the best.

It was still a bit dull, so in Filterstorm I added two screen layers (second one at about 50% opacity). I also sharpened it, and on the second screen layer, used a gradient and the invert tool to reduce the layer's effect on the middle part of the flower. And I've just now replaced it with a verrrry slightly modified one, with the white balance an itsy bitsy teeny weeny bit cooler.

Click to enflorenate.

I think the result was better than from the Lumix lens (out of camera or processed): the Lumix in autofocus was a bit sharper, but it looked a bit harsh and cold compared to the shot with the Pentax lens. Also, f/5.6 compared to f/2.8 didn't blur the background - thus isolating and highlighting the flower - as much. On the flip-side, it also meant more of the flower was in focus - I think that's why this isn't as sharp, now I think about it: I got it focused in such a way that as much of it looked as good as it could, with the very small DoF; whereas the somewhat higher f-stop with the Lumix lens meant that more of the flower was really sharply in focus.

Here's the pic with the Lumix lens.