Thank you, Gene. That probably means this will be an ongoing issue in this garden, but not a problem, if I am working around town. That makes me feel a whole lot better. Whew ...

I sometimes think because there is no pollution up here, the air is so clean, it makes a difference in the quality of the light. I could be kidding myself ...

Larry ... I really don't know what time I took the photos, I didn't set the timer on the camera. I do know that in this kind of heat, which is all summer, I get up and out asap and grab just a little bit of time in the evenings for photos, if I can before the mosquitoes come out to dine. It doesn't begin to cool off until after dark.

You might want to try earlier and later, just to see what effect it has. Some people go out right after sunrise and right before sunset, you might try that and see what effect it has on the overexposure problem.

Thanks, Larry.

I'll give it a try. That's pretty much starting and quitting time during the summer for gardening during the summer months. I'll just see if I can start just a bit earlier.

@RoseBlush1,
Just a suggestion which you might already be doing. You have a choice with that camera of exposure metering settings, have you tried using the center-weight and center-spot choices? I would think that should keep your camera from trying to read the background exposure.

Larry, I am very much of a novice with this camera, but am learning something more about it every time I pick it up. Would you mind explaining that in newbie terms ?

No, changing meter patterns (center spot, etc.) is not the answer. Exposure Compensation is. That is how you deal with dark backgrounds. Google that term for help. Realize that a dark background will still be dark no matter what time of the day you take the pix. Gene

gasrocks,
Would you explain what the purpose of changing metering patterns is? In what situations would you want to use the three different metering patterns available on her camera?
I was thinking that the camera is trying to read the exposure of an entire area (dark background and bright flower ) and the results were not very accurate causing the flower to be overexposed and appear "shiny" in spots. By forcing the camera to take an exposure reading of the flower only and getting in close so it did not pick up the dark background I thought that should give a much better exposure reading on the flower and keep it from looking overexposed?

RoseBlush1,
Look on page 28 of your manual, see if that will explain it. Take some photos with the different settings, and see what the results are for each one.

But the meter reading of the flower is not what you need. It will also fool the camera as it is bright. And each flower is a different tone. 20 years ago I used the spot meter a lot but it is way easier to let the camera look at the whole scene and then use Exp. Comp. Much more powerful, the answer to many (but not all) tricky scenes. Gene

I could hog this whole thread with questions about light and the camera, but I don't think that would be fair to you or others on the site.

I really still do not understand my camera well or the nuances of digital photography well. I took some pretty good photos with my obsolete camera, but haven't graduated well to this camera, but am working on it.

I think when I get any kind of a good shot, it's still pure luck.

This morning, I did get up earlier to get some "dawn" photos. That's when I realized I never get dawn or dusk light in this garden. My "morning light" is really strong morning light when the sun finally comes up over the mountain. It's not the soft dawn light. My "evening light" is still strong afternoon light when the sun drops over the mountain on the other side of the garden. In either case, it's not soft light. Ooops !

I think the morning shots that worked is that there was some shade, but that distorts the color.

A few lucky shots from this morning: (Good grief ... I've got 17 photos for you to look at. That's too many ...)

Photo of a part of the garden before the sun hit it:



Photo of a bloom in shaded area with distorted color





Over exposed again







Possibly OK ... maybe I am being too critical







I have to go out for a bit and will check back later. I do want to thank you for your input. Muddling along is fun, but it is nice to have a nudge in the right direction now and then.

You got better photos in better light. Think about this "contest" and tell me who will win: A - average subject in great light. B - great subject in average light. Answer? A every time! Photography is all about light. Gene

One of my favorite times to take pix of flowers is just before the sun comes up. Great light, no wind, dew drops. I cannot remember the last time I took a pix of a flower the sun = harsh light, high contrast, washed out colors. If I just had to take a pix of a flower in the sun...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/...

Get a diffuser panel. Gene

What mode do you have your camera set in? Try Closeup mode for the close shots and try Landscape for shots like the first photo above showing the row of flowers next to the fence (buttons on top of camera near shutter button).
Make sure to try the scene mode (then select "flower" and take some shots then "closeup" and take some shots).
Scene mode is selected using the mode dial on the back of the camera. Just keep trying different things till you find what works best for you. You do have some exposure compensation adjustment by using the joystick in the center of the mode selector dial. Try that with some shots also.

Thank you, Gene. Just before dawn, it's dark in my garden. The sun hasn't topped the mountain ...

Larry, I'll experiment again next week after temps have dropped a bit. Thank you for the suggestions ...

Take care with colour. Your camera may be fooled due to a lot of green (or other colour) or a dark or a light background. But your monitor is NOT objective either. EVERY brand or type exposes the colours of the same pic differently. And not to help out: this changes over time. Personally I use a Spider 5. This readjusts my monitor every month. You won't believe the difference sometimes between readjusted and the original. I can (off course) not send samples (as they will be adjusted by your monitor!!) but sometimes human skin was pink or orange before readjusting and really human afterwards (for white folks), or of course vice versa as I had been readjusting with an 'old' colour set. This also means that where I have taken all caution in optimizing a flower pic regarding colour: this does NOT mean that the colour I choose will be represented when you see the pic here! Even although when an other member might!! It's YOUR monitor that 'readjusts' the colour!

So take care: YOUR MONITOR IS NOT COLOUR BLIND, not even colour objective!!

Ruud

Those of you that are MUCH better than I am at photography (which is probably all of you............. ..............) will probably find lots wrong with it. My oldest son is a pyro technician. I've been trying to get shots of him lighting the fuses. I like this one........you can even see a shadow of the guy reloading the tubes and the shell is there too. I liked all the "fire" aspects of this photo.

Not bad, not bad at all! Always difficult to get anything sharp and not over-lighted/under-lighted under these conditions. So be proud of it!

Ruud

I have been watching this thread
and am open for critique
#1


#2


#3a
..

#3b


#3 are the same photo just rotated

I never get hurt feelings just learn , so have at it

Thank you

OK. #1 exposure is wrong and the background is just way too busy. Steals the show. Use a longer lens. #2 is cool but perhaps could be better if you had the "ribbon" running diagonally through the frame and did not include the water at the top. Make it all one pattern. #3,4 get rid of the snail. Anything lighter than the subject can be a problem, anything more round then the subject can be a problem. It drawing our attention away from your intended subject. Gene

I agree about number one, but I really like the "story" involved with the ocean and the snail in the other photos, I sea the ocean as being the cause of the other items in the photos it sort of ties things together for me.