Charlotte

[Ken Rennie]

This is a very long range grab shot of this young woman walking about in the lavender fields of Provence in France. I called her Charlotte but I have no idea what she was called as we never came within 50yards of each other. I had cycled to the South of France to take landscape shots of lavender fields. I enjoyed the cycling, the food and the wine but didn't get any decent landscape shots. Fuji XE-1 with 50-230mm lens. Ken

 

[JimFox]

This is awesome Ken! Truly Awesome! Love the limited DOF, and her pose is perfect. Considering you had never even talked with her, to get that type of a pose, an innocent yet mysterious feel. That's really awesome.

You are definitely versatile as a photographer, and that's great. I know I find it recharging to my creative juices to shoot more then just landscapes.

 

[Darcy Grizzle]

Oh love love love this , classic shot.

 

[Ben Egbert]

This is really great everything Jim said

 

[AlanLichty]

Interesting mystery shot. Simple someone wandering in the field and you honestly have no idea what language(s) she even speaks. It does not look like she had any idea she was being watched think less of being photographed. It would be difficult to pose someone as candidly as this for such a shot.

 

[Leslie Hunter]

Fantastic!!!

 

[Ken Rennie]

I wish that I could say that I saw the image when I took it. This is the original taken at 182mm it would have been better fully zoomed in at 250mm. Taken with a Fuji Xe-1 APSc camera. This area around Valensole is famous for its lavender, used in the French perfume industry and tourist buses were arriving every 10 minutes or so, digorging 50 people who waved ipads around for 5 minutes before getting back onto their buses. There were a few other non bus people who had arrived by car and me by bicycle. The 2 young women arrived in a SUV with a very large driver, they all looke SE Asian and France has a history of involvement their. They then wandered about the fields, which stretch for miles, taking selfies. I took some images of them as well as "landscapes". After about 20 minutes a car came racing up and 2 men got out with large Canon cameras and what looked like 500mm lenses and started "machine gunning" the girls. At this the girls and driver got into their SUV and drove off fast. Whether they were film stars, pop singers or whatever I do not know but I enjoyed watching the little performance before I set off to cycle 50 miles across the lavender fields. Note lavender cooking in the sun has a glorious perfume way different from the smell of furniture polish and "old ladies perfume". Last thing I would have loved to have a signed model release form. Ken

The dots are bees

I have just noticed that the white balance is very different, oh well never mind.

 

[Bob Denton]

This is great!

 

[David S]

this is really nice! Love the touch of DOF on the flowers, she looks peaceful yet ominous

 

[JimFox]

Very cool behind the scenes shots you included Ken. It's interesting to see the original, and then the end result. Good work on your part.

And that story of the paparazzi out chasing them, we read about those stories but to see it happen in real life had to be a little exciting or at least amusing.