Name: Kira Armstrong
Picture title: Dahlia on Fire
Nationality: American
Occupation: Pediatric Neuropsychologist

Kira:
‘I love using macro photography to showcase the amazing details hidden in plain sight. Dahlia petals, for example, reveal plenty of surprises when they’re enhanced via the creative use of depth of field, point of view and the beautiful bokeh created by a Lensbaby Velvet 56. I had been trying to capture the ‘flames’ in these flowers for months, but balancing the focus and depth of field was proving to be a challenge. Finally, everything came together. Placing this large dahlia on a flat surface (a black poster board) allowed the petals to flow down and across the bottom of the image (which was rotated 180° for the final version). This changed the depth of field for the ‘upper’ flames in a way that enhanced the blur produced by the Lensbaby.’

Technical information:
Fujifilm X-T2
Lensbaby Velvet 56
ISO 400
Approx. f/2.8
1/100sec
Accessories: Vivitar Close-Up Macro Filters and black poster board (for backdrop).
Post processing: Basic adjustments in Lightroom.

Website: kiraarmstrongphotography.com
Instagram: kiraarmstrong_photography