"The White Nigella" photo posted

At the risk of becoming boring, I'm posting yet another photo of a beautiful Nigella flower, once again part of the series taken on my holidays - yes, that what happens when you're on holidays: you can take thousands of photos as you have all the time in the world!!

This one is a white one, and the beautiful spring sunlight catches the petals beautifully, on an angle. 

"The White Nigella" (c) Gilles Royer 2015

I've also posted it on my +500px page, at the following link: https://500px.com/photo/112540975/the-white-nigella-by-gilles-royer. So far, it's not doing bad, not as good as the "Floating Nigella" one I posted yesterday though. 

Let me know what you think...

The Story Behind... Coeur de Bleuet

The Story Behind...

I've just posted a new photo on my 500px portfolio (http://500px.com/photo/61893995), titled "Coeur de Bleuet"

Coeur de Bleuet - Nikon D200 / Nikkor AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8 / (c) Gilles Royer 2014

I actually took this shot last year, during a trip back to France in May. It was spring, and I went around my parents' beautiful garden to take macro photos of all plants and bugs. Although everybody was looking at me funny, standing 50cm from every single flower I could find, I'm really happy with the results.

This particular shot was taken with my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 (that's the AF-S VR model, not the latest version), with a close-up filter screwed in front of it (I didn't have my macro lens back then). This was taken at the max aperture (i.e. f/2.8) which gives a beautiful separation of the subject from its background. Plus, the lens has a beautiful bokeh, which gives a very soft and beautiful texture in the background.

The flower itself is a "Bleuet" in French, or summer cornflower in English. It has very long and delicate petals, blue/purple in colour, with a very deep purple centre. This shot was taken from above, to enhance the structure and starry aspect of the cornflower. Check my other posting of the same flower for a different angle: http://500px.com/photo/34282762.

Please let me know what you think, and/or how you would improve this photo.