Well, not exactly but it seemed like the sky was falling when I decided to take a few quick shots of my hens and chickens for my photo of the day after my planned photo op with Fabian [yes, THAT Fabian] fell through because my friend, a charter member –perhaps a lifetime member?– of the Fabian Fan Club was unable to accompany me to Fabian’s Italian Bistro for a “meet and greet” over Philly Cheese Steaks. Since I’d just been there for lunch and I’m NOT a former, let alone lifetime, member of the Fabian Fan Club I decided to skip the festivities and find something around here to photograph.
What I thought would be a couple of quick, easy shots, turned into an hour of in and out, setting up and setting up again. Sheesh! I am always amazed at what I encounter when I try to take a couple of quick photos. This afternoon was no exception. The late afternoon sun cast some interesting shadows onto the patio and the pinkish green hens and chickens in a pot on the patio table were lovely in this light.
I set up the tripod and first discovered that I was too close for proper focus so I placed the pot of succulents on the lawn. I soon realized that one of the tripod legs cast a shadow directly over the plant. Note to self: check out shadows from all sources and remove undesirable ones before shooting! When I finally downloaded the photos, they were out of focus. I’d set the tripod on the lawn and when I depressed the shutter it caused a bit of a jiggle. Back out again, this time moving to the patio concrete. This batch was also out of focus. Oh no! I guess I didn’t tighten the tripod fittings sufficiently and that probably is what caused the slight movement. Third time’s a charm so I went back out but this time I used my shutter release remote and got the photos I was seeking. I also adjusted the white balance to direct sun and tweaked the color until I got the exact color of the hens and chickens. However, the sunlight changed while I fiddled and I failed to recheck the settings so the final few, in focus, photos were slightly underexposed. I made a slight adjustment in Levels to get the correct exposure. So, Chicken Little can rest easy tonight. The sky isn’t falling.
Focal Length 200mm
ISO 100
f/25
0.4 seconds
Great composition on this shot! I like the story too, because I AM a former Fabian fan. I think I threw away my autographed photo finally (one of my mother’s high school friends was his tutor in Hollywood). Anyway- I think this is a nice photo!