more psychedelic palm trees from the fitzroy gardens

And so it continues - the exploration of these wonderful shapes silhouetted against a spring sky. The journey is far from over, though; what I'd like to achieve is a completely blank sky, with the chosen pattern appearing only within the silhouette. I've done it once before, with the Holga:

But the F4 is a million times more accurate, and as such doesn't so easily overexpose. Which just means I have to keep experimenting. It's hard to imagine what the daisy(?) photo would look like with a clear sky, so I can't really determine whether or not it would be better than what you see here. On the one hand, I quite like the consistency of the floral yellow soldiers throughout the entire frame, and the glow around the palm. On the other hand, a clear sky would really accentuate the tree. It would literally be a burst of flowers. I'm looking forward to achieving what's in my head.

I took quite a few of these shots on a recent Sunday trip to the lovely gardens, with picnic rug, book and Yan-Yan in tow. None of them achieved the desired result - which disappointed me at first, until I realised that if you're a self-taught photographer then straying from the path is all part of the learning. The most successful image from the day is successful precisely because it didn't give me a clear sky. I just don't think it would look as good:

The faded background (outside of the palm) highlights the subjects so vividly, and the composition is, for lack of a better word, really cute. The inclusion of people is also a plus for me, because when it comes down to it, inanimate objects just don't excite me as much as the human form.

So I'll keep trying, pushing, changing, until I get what I think I want. And then I'll probably push some more.