Name: Jay Birmingham
Picture title: Thawing Beauty
Category: Plants
Nationality: British
Occupation: Teacher

Jay:
‘I am fortunate enough to live near a location where snake’s head fritillaries grow natively. Broad Meadow, near Tamworth in the UK, floods regularly and creates the ideal conditions for these beautiful flowers. The flowers move easily in the wind, so I waited for a morning where there was no breeze. There had also been an overnight frost. This combined with the mist and rising sun, created some beautiful conditions for photography.

In order to maximise focus and make sure the flower stood out against the background, I shot wide open at f/2.8 using a 180mm macro lens. I then stacked a few images together where I had focused on different parts of the flower.’

Technical information:
Canon EOS R5
Sigma 180mm f/2.8 macro
1/640, f/2.8, ISO100
Accessories: Tripod
Post processing: Multiple images focus stacked in Helicon Focus. Basic adjustments in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Website: www.jaybirmingham.com
Instagram: jaybirminghamphotography
Twitter: Jay_B_Photos
Facebook: jaybirminghamphotography