How Much To Include

Many years ago, when I was beginning down my outdoor photography passion path, I started out studying wildflowers through my camera lenses. First pictures were preserved on the subdued colors of Kodachrome slide film, then the very strong greens of Fuji film, and ending with the equally vivid colors of Ektachrome Elite. A day in the field would cost the price of a roll or two of slide film, processing, and postage - along with a week or two of processing time. And you better hope your exposures were on the mark or the investments were wasted. Now imaging provides near instant results without film and processing cost, but with much higher equipment costs.

Now when I go out on my daily jaunts with my camera I do not hesitate to try various compositions when I see something I like. For example, today I found many Dutchman’s breeches in full bloom. They were also in full sun, so I had to compose carefully.

Often, in the old days, I would focus tightly on a single or just a few blossoms. Lately I have been trying to include more of the surrounding habitat - sometimes all of it sharp and other times with a pleasing background blur. For now I just prefer a more complete image rather than an almost too close view.

As I worked with these blossoms I tried several versions since I could not decide how much to include. Each photo works, but I prefer the top one, at least right now. How about you? What do you prefer - close or a wider view?