In The Eye of the Beholder by myautofocuslife

In The Eye of the Beholder

I find the chrysanthemum beautiful because it's so petal-ful. (Nope, there is no such word. But I think you know what I mean. Heh.) I took this shot by placing the single stalk of flower in a very small bottle so that it can't be seen when I hover my camera above the flower. The background is just a sheet of white paper the bottle is sitting on.

Yesterday, I received this comment: "how can you love autofocus? That's like saying I love the lottery, lucky dips, Roulette... you have to take what the camera decides is your main subject. How can you love something which doesn't let you choose your focus, and chooses it for you. I like machines, but I want to make decisions myself."

Food for thought?

*attempts to think... and breaks something in her head*
wooooow.. Soo Colorful :) I Jus LOVE IT !!!
January 5th, 2012  
Stunning!!
January 5th, 2012  
Beautiful colours!!
January 5th, 2012  
I think most beholder's eyes would find beauty in this.
January 5th, 2012  
wow this is perfection... a fave for me
January 5th, 2012  
So beautiful Livia! Fav for me
January 5th, 2012  
So beautifully captured! Love the colour and the accent of colour on the tips of the petals!
January 5th, 2012  
Lovely and petalicious :)
January 5th, 2012  
Nice and lovely!
January 5th, 2012  
WOW the darker tips against the white background is just stunning!!!! wonderful...auto focus and all ;-)
January 5th, 2012  
The teacher ask Johnny his favorite flower he tried to say Chrysanthemum but it came out all wrong so she ask him to spell it He then replied second thought I like Roses the best I Like the Chrysanthemum Great Pic
January 5th, 2012  
So beautiful! The white background makes this! Fav!
January 5th, 2012  
Sen
Really nice. It reached out and grabbed me the moment I saw it. Thanks for letting us in on how you did it as well.
January 5th, 2012  
Gorgeous. Amazing colour. Just perfect. Fav!
January 5th, 2012  
Fantastic!! Why is it that I can NEVER manage to take a decent photo of a flower, and everyone else seems to manage it effortlessly. Fantastic (auto) focus. Beautiful colours.
January 5th, 2012  
eva
Love it. Just love it.
January 5th, 2012  
I am like Janelle - would love to take fab pics of flowers etc but can never get it right. Gorgeous shot - love the colours and the simplicity of it.
January 5th, 2012  
So pretty!
January 5th, 2012  
that's lovely.....
January 5th, 2012  
So beautiful...
January 5th, 2012  
Yeah, I agree and will definitely put this one in fav's =)
January 5th, 2012  
Wow, so very beautiful!!
January 5th, 2012  
I like the idea of hiding the vase, very sweet. And in regards to Auto Focus, my answer remains the same; Why buy a dog if you are going to do all the barking yourself.
January 5th, 2012  
so nice of you to tell us how you achieved this wonderful photo
fav
and auto focus and manual... there just might be a time for each one
like i read in one photo book about taking photos of small moving chidren in a land far away... he said P was for perfect at times.

January 5th, 2012  
Colors r amazing! So well done. Thanks for sharing set up.
January 5th, 2012  
So petal-ful, just gorgeous. Love your thoughts on AF and am slowly changing from auto to manual myself...
January 5th, 2012  
Magnificent Livia - this is so perfect - both the flower and your skills.
January 5th, 2012  
Fabulous............what lovely delicate colours too!
January 5th, 2012  
Wow this is so very beautiful. In life you have to sometimes do what makes you happy; yes it is lovely to do what other people like and suggest, but, if it effects your own well being, there does have to be a point where you do it for you! This photo is beautiful; thus you have made yourself happy and a hell of a lot of people on here. Win win I say!
January 5th, 2012  
Gorgeous flower - such pretty colours and fantastic focus, auto or not! :)
January 5th, 2012  
Beautiful set up and execution. Thanks for sharing your "how to".
January 5th, 2012  
Wow. incredible tips
January 5th, 2012  
lovely!
January 5th, 2012  
perfection!
January 5th, 2012  
So beautiful. I love the soft pink against the white background Petal-ful I likey.
January 5th, 2012  
and posts photos that demonstrate autofocus works perfectly for her and gets on with her project . . . :)
P.S. Love this one.
January 5th, 2012  
However you do it, Livia! It's just beautiful! Your comp is simple but, elegant and right on the money! Lovely color and detail! What else do you others want in a great pic?!!
January 5th, 2012  
Wow! This is so beautiful Livia! FAV! :D
January 5th, 2012  
Beautiful composition and also appreciate the information on how you set up the shot. I learned much.
January 5th, 2012  
Gorgeous flower--it turned out well. Autofocus, not a fan because my brain usually picks out the non-obvious subject
January 5th, 2012  
WOW, I adore this photo - I could almost touch it (fantastic texture shoot).
January 5th, 2012  
Fantastic shot, Livia. Love it whether its auto or manual focus.
January 5th, 2012  
lovely flower:) great focus.
January 5th, 2012  
Nice, soft shot.
January 5th, 2012  
Equisite.
January 5th, 2012  
LOVE...Fav for me
January 5th, 2012  
Very beautiful!
January 5th, 2012  
You absolutely rocked this photo, Livia! The colors and the clarity are stunningly perfect! I wish that I could answer the question as beautifully as you did on the subject of auto focus. As you well know, we are both admirers of the "intelligence" of our cameras. I am so with you on this topic. Am thankful that you are here to show off your magical talents of this camera setting. And, thank you so much for the info of your set-up for this photo. It's a learning tool for me and not many people on here will share this kind of learning lesson to a newbie. I am grateful to you.
January 5th, 2012  
Oh . . almost forgot. FAV! :)
January 5th, 2012  
I appreciate your sharing how you do things. Very helpful to neophytes like me. This is so pretty-ful, Livia !! =) FAV!
January 5th, 2012  
This is gorgeous. Fav
January 5th, 2012  
Beautiful!
January 5th, 2012  
Very beautiful shot. Great processing.
January 5th, 2012  
Lol! You have a marvelous humour! And that is beautiful shot! Fav!
January 5th, 2012  
Jo
Absolutely beautiful! I'm not going to think about the focus thing either as I'll be sure to break something too!
January 5th, 2012  
lovely flower portrait!
January 5th, 2012  
Beautiful~
January 5th, 2012  
lovely shot lovely capture
January 5th, 2012  
Aww it looks so delicate, great capture!
January 5th, 2012  
Stunning!
January 5th, 2012  
Beautiful pic of that flower. Great idea the way you did it.
Thank you for you so kind comment ( answer ) to my wife`s question. I have a Googel on BJD dolls and know everything about them now.
The are really beautiful ( but also a bit expensive so I didn`t show the site to my wife )
January 5th, 2012  
Just beautiful, pure and elegant
January 5th, 2012  
Fav! This is gorgeous!
January 5th, 2012  
This is so pretty
January 5th, 2012  
This is really beautiful :)
January 5th, 2012  
Spectacular!! Great focus, DOF and composition :)
January 5th, 2012  
Lovely - may have to attempt something similar later in the year. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
January 5th, 2012  
@glendq Agreed! I think there is certainly a place in the world for auto-focus.

And I think the proof is in the pudding. Or in the flower, as the case may be! Well done.
January 5th, 2012  
Absolutely beautiful. Yes these flowers cry out to be photoed.
January 5th, 2012  
Stunning..and that's another fav
January 6th, 2012  
A stunning shot Livia. Really like this against the white background. Lovely and a FAV.
January 6th, 2012  
Sooo beautiful!
January 6th, 2012  
beautiful focus, love the white background. congrats on PP! fav for me
January 6th, 2012  
I am so VERY happy that you made the PP with this photo, Livia! You have shown everyone (once again) that an autofocus photo can be extremely beautiful. Congrats from your autofocus friend! :)
January 6th, 2012  
Love your lighting and colors in this one Livia.
January 6th, 2012  
Beautiful ...congrats on the PP page!! and I love J's sweater ;)
January 6th, 2012  
Another great shot that I almost missed. This is beautifully done, Livia. I wish I could be half as good as you are with the autofocus. Fav. Congratulations on the PP.
January 6th, 2012  
Gorgeous shot. So pretty against the white background.
January 6th, 2012  
admire at what you do
January 6th, 2012  
Gorgeous - beautiful colours and lighting! :)
January 6th, 2012  
I absolutely love this picture!
January 6th, 2012  
So pretty!! FAV!
January 6th, 2012  
This is absolutely gorgeous! fav
January 6th, 2012  
very lovely shot... thanks, also, for the details about the shot.. I often wonder!!
January 6th, 2012  
just beautiful! wonderful colours. nice commentary, lol
January 6th, 2012  
STUNNING!!!! Love it. Fave!
January 6th, 2012  
Absolutely gorgeous!! I don't understand the problem with autofocus! I love it too ... hahaha :) Oh, and btw ... perfect focus Livia! Fav!
January 6th, 2012  
Amazing shot and such a fave for me!
January 6th, 2012  
had to fave this beautiful shot
January 6th, 2012  
Gorgeous! Both the pic, composition and flower!
I've seen this comment on your other pic, and I disagree with it. As you said, you still have plenty of room to decide for other parameters (light, composition, etc.) and I think what you do is a brilliant photo exercise, actually: forcing yourself taking pics in "limited" conditions that are fixed by your camera. I would advise the guy who posted this comment to try doing this exercise :-)
January 6th, 2012  
absolutely stunning, i love the contrast against the white background!
January 6th, 2012  
as for the comment that someone left you....photography is so personal there is no right or wrong way to do it!, it all comes down to personal preference and anyone who tries to say otherwise doesnt understand the art of it!!
January 6th, 2012  
Congratulations! I spied this on PP, gorgeous flower and composition! Fav.
January 6th, 2012  
The focus and clarity of this is wonderful :)
January 6th, 2012  
Love the simple beauty of this. Lovely.
January 6th, 2012  
Stunning!! I love your autofocus. (That's all I use too)
January 6th, 2012  
Brilliant photo, the white background in fantastic!!! Love it!!
January 6th, 2012  
Wonderful detail, Livia! And great color too!
January 6th, 2012  
Congradulations on your photo being on the PP page!!
January 6th, 2012  
Amazing! thanks also for sharing how you took the photo, great lesson for a newbie :))
January 6th, 2012  
Beautiful shot!
January 6th, 2012  
Wow! What a gorgeous shot! I know what you mean about auto focus. I use a lot because I don't know very much about all of the camera functions and I guess I'm not that much into learning it all...
January 6th, 2012  
Congrats on the top 20
January 6th, 2012  
We have a Lumix as well - like the one you were using. I loved taking pictures. All I had to worry about, was the composition - well mostly. Then we went and baught a fancy camera and gone was all the enjoyment. I was overwhelmed by the techical terms, felt so stupid, confused!!! Until I joined 365! I am much more confident - although there's still a world of photography un-knowns for me! Start gradually. The most important thing you already have - creativity. Enjoy - we are watching you!!!
January 6th, 2012  
congrats for the popular page! this looks fab
January 6th, 2012  
Love love love it!! Fav! :)
January 6th, 2012  
floating on air great pic
January 7th, 2012  
I don't know how I missed this shot. It is gorgeous. Congratulations on top 20!! Fav
January 7th, 2012  
congrats on top 20! this is beautiful!!
January 7th, 2012  
Congratulations on making the Top 20. Very well deserved.
January 7th, 2012  
Such stunning shot! the colours are fabulous!
January 7th, 2012  
Fantastic photo! I do not use auto focus with my maco lens on my slr. Laziness on my part, I find it quicker to manually focus than switch focus points when shooting off-center. On my pocket camera, the manual focus is naff so I use auto.
In the end, it is preference and results. You definitely have the results to back your chosen method.
January 7th, 2012  
So beautiful.
January 7th, 2012  
Yay!!!!! Top 20!! Congrats, Livia!
January 7th, 2012  
Congratulations, made the TOP 20!!
January 7th, 2012  
Wow..beautiful. Congrats on making top 20
January 7th, 2012  
Amy
Well done on the whole Top 20 gig - I can see why. Very pretty shot.
January 7th, 2012  
perfect and sharp! bravo!
January 8th, 2012  
so beautiful.. a fav and a follow..x
January 8th, 2012  
So delicate and pretty! I'm fascinated that you go to so much trouble to plan, control and compose your shot, yet you don't seek the opportunities to control that a dslr allows. BTW I faved this one
January 8th, 2012  
@jenirainbow Thank you! I guess I'm weird like that. 8D
January 8th, 2012  
This shot is stunning, a fav
January 8th, 2012  
Very sharp!
January 9th, 2012  
Beautiful colours, really excellent focus, A great shot
January 11th, 2012  
Lovely tones and clarity. So pleased you're enjoying your photography.
That's the most important thing of all.
January 12th, 2012  
superb! and don't worry about the comment about auto-focus. AF doesn't decide what the subject of your photo is if you know how make AF focus on what you want. In fact, sometimes, AF can take more work, not less. When trying to capture a bird in the trees, AF is annoying. If you capture beautiful photos that people love, what does it matter if you did auto or manual focus?
January 16th, 2012  
love it
February 3rd, 2012  
I love that the beauty is in the simplicity of this shote. Nice.
February 13th, 2012  
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