Description: An early spring violet with a Minolta lens resting beside it. I took the shot in late afternoon in mottled shade.
Background: My second camera purchase was a Minolta Maxxum 5 that came with two lenses, one of which, the 35-80mm, is pictured here. The Maxxum 7000i, the first camera I purchased came with a Minolta Maxxum 70-300mm (D) lens, and I was eager to try it out. The violets were a nuisance because they kept returning despite my efforts to get rid of them. I went into the yard intending to test the 300mm range (I had not used anything longer than 210mm before then). I took a few random shots with the 35-80mm, removed it, placing it on the ground. After shooting a few frames with the 70-300mm, I turned around and positioned the lens so that it nestled the violet. Since the lens was at 300mm, the first shot had motion blur. I steadied myself on a large rock, just out of the frame on the left, and tried again.
Technical: Minolta Maxxum 5, Minolta Maxxum 70-300mm (D) at 300mm, Kodak UltraMax 400, mottled shade, aperture priority, commercial scan 1800 x 1215 pixels. (I’m not sure of the exact aperture/shutter speed).
Frame Works?: Yes. Having earlier come up with the idea of blogging about my garden, I wanted a shot that matched the zeitgeist of a blog about photography and flowers. The violet with the lens seemed perfect.
I love the way the UltraMax renders the range of greens and the color of the violet. On looking at the scans a year ago, I was amazed at the vibrancy of the image and how true-to-life it was, and I still am. It was the site’s header image for a few weeks before I decided it was too distracting. No matter, it still perfectly captures what EarthSunFilm is about. I love it.
