Bluebells

Down in the region of Bournemouth last week and found a bluebell wood;




Ground was soaking wet, so I held the camera in front of this, pressed the shutter and hoped.

C&C welcome.

Not a bluebell I'm afraid.

It is a bluebell, you can get white bluebells and pirple bluebells.

It's definitely not a bluebell. Bluebells have bell shaped flowers, this looks more like a type of orchid

Cheers
David

I would agree with David on this matter.

My garden is awash with all three colours and all are bell shaped flowers







regards
Bernard

Yeah I'm with the Orchid, early purple orchid . the tubers were once said to be an aphrodisiac.... have you got a shot of the leaves? They are broad, pale at the base and rounded and darker at the top . Bluebells have a thin pointed leaf .. nice shot though...jeff..

It looks like this.... which is basically a weed, but it
does attract a lot of bees.




'

I'd say early purple orchid too, though it is hard to be sure without seeing the leaves.

In any case it seems a very soft photo to me.

Okay, brutally honest...

The flower in the front dominates, but is out of focus. The flower behind is less dominant but in focus. Unfortunately this doesn't really work, IMO. The dominant subject should be in focus, or the depth of field should encompass both.

The fact that you took the photo without your eye to the viewfinder (or at least the screen) goes some way to explaining this. You need to be careful where the camera's focusing in a shot like this, and you just can't do that without looking, I'm afraid.

If you really want the shot, bite the bullet and get down on the wet ground. You'd be able to create a better composition that way, too.

I'm down on my knees in all sorts of conditions so much these days that I finally gave in and bought a pair of trousers with protective kneepads. I've come home with mud all over my clothes on a few occasions because of my determination to get a shot. Sometimes the resultant shots weren't even worth it, but then you won't know unless you try. It won't stop me the next time, either.

No, that's Balsam! (And it's wasps that go for it, developing the look of a white variety.)

John K

That's right I'd forgotten the name, but it is bees not wasps
that are attracted to it.... see here link

Some videos with sound here link

Also known as Indian Balsam, Policeman’s helmet,
Jumping Jacks, Nuns, Bee Bums and Poor Man’s Orchid

-

Sorry, noe shot of the leaves.

And an invasive pest which needs a dose of Glyphosate!

It certainly is invasive.

Well this one had a wasp!



(Photographed near Bolton in 2009 on a Samsung GX20 with a Vivitar 90mm f2.8 fully manual lens and Sunpak ring flash.)

John K

I agree with Mark's "brutality" In addition to the focus issues, it looks a bit underexposed. The colors are fairly saturated, but there's not much "pop" to it at all. So, even if the focus was accurate it would be rather unappealing regardless.

I also agree about his take on the conditions. If a shot is worth taking (and sharing).....I think you gotta be willing to deal with the elements to get the best shot possible.