Submitter's name:	John A. Lind
Title:	Vernal Virtu
Gear used:	OM-2S; Zuiko prime lens and auto extension tube.
Diaphragm:	f/5.6
Shutter speed:	1/30 second
Film used:	Provia 100F (RDP III)
Technical information:	Made this photograph hand held; tripod use was not possible. Holding steady enough was very difficult. This is the full image frame. I will post the lens and tube length used after the submitters' names are revealed.
Subject information:	Found this in the front yard, no more than 3 meters from the front door. It appeared there several weeks ago. I will post the specific subject material after the submitters' names are revealed.
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Oooooooh! Lovely colours, great idea and great execution! This is definitely one of my favourite entries, and being Dutch, next year or so when we have enough tulips around I might try to reproduce this shot.

Comment left by: siddiq (no e-mail specified)

lovely translucent glow.

Comment left by: Dave Bulger (david_bulger@austintx.net)

Beautiful shot.

Comment left by: Anonymous Visitor

At the urging of a friend, this is the lens and tube data: 18mm f/3.5 Zuiko with 7mm extension tube Olaf is correct that it's a tulip. The lens and tube combination are why it looks as if the viewer is inside the flower.

Comment left by: C.H.Ling (chling@glink.net.hk)

Just a beautiful graphic!

Comment left by: siddiq (no e-mail specified)

18mm w/ extension! certainly a unique perspective, and handheld no less!

Comment left by: Scott Gomez (scott@petroglyph.crestline.ca.us)

This just glows! I really love the color. I'd guess it's a shot into a tulip blossom.

Comment left by: Hank Hogan (hogant@mindspring.com)

Beautiful photograph ! This one is so incredibly beautiful and symmetrical and glowing that I'm sure it will give me dreams. Thanks for sharing your vision!

Comment left by: Mike Cormier (ronaldcormier@hotmail.com)

Great color saturation. I really must use more Provia :) certainly could be used as an ad for the 18/3.5, congrats!

Comment left by: Chris Barrett (drchrisbarrett@netscapeonline.co.uk)

I think this is my favourite. I really like the colour and symmetry. I guess that the scanner doesn't do justice to the original, but even so it is stunning.

Comment left by: Anonymous Visitor

Wow! Love the glow.

Comment left by: Mickey Trageser (no e-mail specified)

With an 18mm, you must have had the lens IN the tulip! The saturation and glow make magic on the screen. Lovely.

Comment left by: Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com)

Tremendous shot. I tlooks almost as if you had a lamp behind the flower, shining through it. I love the symmetry as well.

Comment left by: Ray Moth (ray_moth@yahoo.com)

Tremendous shot. It looks almost as if you had a lamp behind the flower, shining through it. I love the symmetry as well.

Comment left by: Bruce Hamm (bhamm@magma.ca)

The glow. The colour. The detail. This one belongs on the wall. Well done.

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

I was originally thinking this type of photograph could work vertical or horizontal. However, with a red tulip and the center offset, this works better vertically. Vertical is more energetic which matches the offset and the red color. Saturation is good; enough to brings out the red color without blowing out the detail. A little more DOF at f/11 would have been better. Noted you were working hand held at 1/30; a difficult combination. I'm suspecting you were constrained to as tight as possible with a shutter speed you could still hand hold. If you do it again (next year? the tulips are gone now) see if there's any way at all to use a tripod; it would allow a longer shutter speed and tighter aperture. I agree, it's definitely one for a wall!

Comment left by: Chris Barker (imagopus@threeshoes.co.uk)

I wish I had thought of going this close. This is a nice shot and one that will be worth printing and framing I should think.

Comment left by: Simon E. (ruralwales@yahoo.com)

A 'textbook' photo, a truly stunning example of graphic simplicity and the power of colour. 10/10.

Comment left by: Michael Virsinger (mikev@virtechsolutions.com)

A magical shot that lights up the screen and really draws you in. I like it a lot. I have tried the 16mm + extension tubes and the DOF is really shallow, so I can imagine how tough hand holding this shot must have been.

Comment left by: Jim Caldwell (jamesfc@gte.net)

Terrific picture!! This would make a wonderful enlargement. Well executed.

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

Sincere thanks to all who have left remarks. If you're wondering why I critiqued my own photo (and are not on the list or missed Olafo's posting about why) I did it to throw Acer off on which one was mine . . . he was desperately trying to guess at it. :-) BTW it is my honest assessment of it, and how it could have been a little better. Normally I use an OM-4, Kodachrome 64 and give distances in feet, not meters. The OM-2S and Provia 100F, and distance in meters were also intended to throw him off. As I promised Olafo, here are more details about how I made this image: As previously posted (anonymously) I used an 18mm f/3.5 with 7mm extension tube. Longer tubes will not work with this lens; the focus point even at infinity focus (on the lens) ends up behind the front element. Also used the metal screw-on combination lens hood and 72mm filter threaded filter holder. Envisioned this image by thinking about how people see the outside of tulips but do not often see the inside. Looked into the top of the tulips and found the internal colors very interesting and structure quite geometric. The red ones are more dramatic than our white ones. Also noted on a sunny day, even in the shade, the petals are sufficiently translucent to reveal some of their structure and allow illumination of the interior. Waited until the tuilps were as fully open as they would be in mid-afternoon. Then selected a likely one of the half-dozen red ones that were fully mature just outside my front door. The location and other flowers precluded using the tripod, so it would have to be done hand-held limiting shutter speed to no slower than 1/30th; a definite limiter on gettting as narrow an aperture as possible. I knew DOF would be very shallow and wanted to maximize it. Started with the lens focused at infinity and very carefully moved closer to the top of the tulip until the lens hood came into contact with the tips of the petals. This helped reduce motion of the tulip in the ever present slight breeze. The view through the 18mm super-wide lens was even better than envisioned! Started wide open (f/3.5) and looked at exposure in the viewfinder and stopped down until the shutter speed showed 1/30th in the viewfinder (this ended up at f/5.6). Then carefully set critical focus on the stamen. Didn't have to move the focus ring much from infinity focus! After setting focus, I found myself unable to stay that steady. I very slowly depressed the shutter release when the lens was in the correct position (focus and composition). If it started to drift, I would stop pressing the shutter release any further until it drifted back. This is much like pistol and revolver shooters will do in shooting competitions as the sights drift. After each shot (made about a dozen) I took a breather for a minute or so to let my muscles recover before making the next one. This and one other were the best of the lot. There are a few very clearly terrible ones with some combination of focus out, composition off and obvious camera shake. Hope this helps with others doing macros hand held. Persistence and patience pays off! Thanks, -- John

Comment left by: Erwin Voogt (photovoogt@hotmail.com)

Excellent shot! How many beta-blockers did you swallow to eliminate all vibrations of your body?

Comment left by: John A. lind (jlind@spitfire.net)

Erwin, Ummmm, no beta blockers. That would be too healthy. Drank an entire pot of strong coffee though (about a liter), just so I would be at my peak. :-) -- John

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