I have been hoping to capture these frangipani blooms with their little faces turned up toward the sun. I finally managed to get an image close to what I was looking for the other morning.
It was only this year in Florida that I was introduced to frangipani flowers. I discovered three trees in a yard neighbouring the marina, and I found them quite fascinating. The homeowners were happy to let me photograph them as much as I wanted. Also called plumeria, these blossoms are used in leis in Hawaii and have the most delicious fragrance.
The trees were all much taller than me, though, so I had to shoot in an upwards direction to photograph them. I wanted to get the sun behind them. But as you can imagine, getting the perfect exposure proved to be a challenge shooting into the sun. When the petals were perfectly exposed, the sky was blown out. And when the sky had some puffy cloud detail, the flowers were too dark and muddy looking. What to do?
Given my recent experiments with HDR photography, it occurred to me that the solution might be to combine two or more exposures. I tried it and was delighted to find that the final image was much closer to the image I saw with my eyes and that I wanted to share.
Twenty facts you may not know about frangipani…
WordPress weekly photo challenge: Up
Sherrygaley.com 
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up – Through Glass To Sky | SERENDIPITY
Yes these trees are so delightful down here…love them.
Pingback: Up “Then Down Step~by~Step” | Allyson Mellone
Just catching up on my week’s blog reading, and I had to stop by these beautiful frangipani. I can almost smell their scent. The combined exposure has done the trick, you’ve got an image full of detail and softness. That sun flare is a magical touch.
Such a wonderful translucency to this, and the colors are gorgeous.
Very beautiful!
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up | Mike Hardisty Photography
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up | my cyber house rules
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up (Flower Parade) | What's (in) the picture?
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge – Up | Beyond Beauty Tips
Beautiful – simply magnificent and beauty of natural world – thank you.
Sheryl-Elaine
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up (Babylon) | What's (in) the picture?
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up | Four Deer Oak
Pingback: Weekly photo challenge: Up | The (Urban-Wildlife) Interface
This photos is so evocative that I can smell the scent of the lei that I was greeted with in Hawaii! Wonderful memory. Thanks.
Love the lens flare too!
Gorgeous photo! And what a brilliant way to illustrate “up” – great concept, well executed! I’ve never seen these flowers but they do look very lovely.
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up | Life's So Sweet
Stunning!
Good for you! They came out wonderfully. I just had the same situation, yesterday, trying to shoot wisteria growing in trees. I haven’t yet uploaded them to the computer, but I think I might have a similar result.
Yes! I love plumeria, too! I had no idea that they were the same as frangipani. Your photo is stunning … whatever you call it!
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up (Dry) | What's (in) the picture?
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up (Tax) | What's (in) the picture?
Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: Up | Create A Beautiful Life
Beautiful work, Sherry! Love the addition of the lens flare on the top left.
Such beautiful frangipani flowers against the light. I’ve never actually seen them in real life, so was happy to get to know them here. I’ve always enjoyed incense and candles perfumed with frangipani.
Have a lovely weekend!