Kew Gardens With Samsung Memory Cards

From left to right: Sandra Crook, Joshua Waller (Technical Editor), Mike Smith, Clive Nichols (Garden Photographer), Vicky Fry, Mark Chamberlain and Susan Barton.

ePHOTOzine partnered with Samsung Memory Cards to find 5 ePHOTOzine members who could join us for an exclusive photography shoot at Kew Gardens with world-famous flower and garden photographer Clive Nichols. The five lucky winners were chosen a few weeks ago and on Tuesday 17 April 2012, Clive Nichols, ePHOTOzine's Technical Editor, Joshua Waller, and the five ePHOTOzine members met for a day of flower photography lessons and shooting sessions at Kew Gardens.

The five lucky members were given Samsung 16Gb SDHC memory cards to use and Clive Nichols was on-hand giving guidance and advice on how to take the best shots.

Here are some of the best shots from our members, plus their feedback on the day, followed by Clive Nichols comments:

Mike Smith

		Mike Smith - MikeSmith Shooting with: Nikon D7000 Favourite part of ePHOTOzine: The feedback that comes from fellow ePz members, the comradery of others, their willingness to help fellow photographers and generally the whole "community" aspect of the site. Favourite part of the day: The whole experience! It was good to work outside my comfort zone and great to hear Clive's comments on the shots as we took them. Comment on Samsung memory card: Fast and responsive.

Clive's comments: "There are some great shots here. I love the perfect reflection of the water lily and the low angle that Mike has chosen to capture it. His shot of the iris has a lovely shallow depth of field but still shows some fine detailing in the petals. My favourite image is the fern in the glasshouse – superb composition and strong use of pattern."

Sandra Crook

	Sandra Crook - CrookyMonsta Shooting with: Nikon D7000 Favourite part of ePHOTOzine: I love the community critique on photos and the wide variety of comments you get on your photos. I feel I have learnt more from member's critique on photos than anywhere else. Favourite part of the day: My favourite part of the day at Kew Gardens was our time in the Alpine house, with Clive on hand to demonstrate some of the many possibilities it offers. It was great to have so much space to photograph plants which were so perfectly displayed and I can't wait to go back. Comment on Samsung memory card: The Samsung memory card worked straight out of the pack and the download speed of RAW files is very impressive. It's great that it's waterproof, shockproof and magnetproof for the safe storage of photos.

Clive's comments: "Sandra has taken some unusual shots that are well observed - I especially like the image of the gardener in the water. She has used backgrounds well in her close up work – the poppies against the stone wall work well. My favourite shot is the delicate flower of the fritillaria – beautifully backlit with the morning sunlight."

Mark Chamberlain

	Mark Chamberlain - MarkTC Shooting with: Canon EOS 500D Favourite part of ePHOTOzine: As a learner I think my favourite element has to be ePHOTOzine's tutorials. Photo Month is a great feature too! Favourite part of the day: My favourite part was when we all crammed into the Lily House as it was a great source of inspiration and Clive's guidance made it perfect. Comment on Samsung memory card: The card looks good in its combat grey colour. When capturing an image it stored the image quickly and the transfer rate from card to PC seemed to be superior to the usual SD card I used. Yes, you read right, used as the Samsung card has now replaced it. I took the Samsung card out again on a shoot on Friday and was very pleased with its performance.

Clive's comments: "I was pleased to see that Mark took my advice and shot the orange flower with his macro against a purple flower behind – the image works really well. I also like very much the branch of the cherry tree in full flower with the Palm House out of focus behind."

Vicky Fry

	Vicky Fry - VickyF Shooting with: Canon EOS 60D Favourite part of ePHOTOzine: The Photo Gallery Favourite part of the day: The whole day was fantastic so it's difficult to pick one part. If pushed, I'd say meeting Clive, listening to his advice and getting to know fellow ePHOTOzine members. Comment on Samsung memory card: Cool design, worked perfectly and downloaded quickly.

Clive's comments: "Vicky was very keen to get low to the ground so that she could capture some really nice close up details of flowers with her macro lens. The pictures show that in the alpine house she was able to get some nice shallow depth of field images of the alpines. Vicky also spent a lot of time photographing the amazing jade vine – one of the highlights of the day."

Susan Barton

		Susan Barton - SusanBarton Shooting with: Canon Powershot G11 Favourite part of ePHOTOzine: The friendly and helpful community and being able to easily make contact with photographers with like-minded interests. Favourite part of the day: The Lily House as there were so many photo opportunities there. I am going back to Kew Gardens as soon as possible to improve on what I have already taken. Comment on Samsung memory card: Very fast to download the pictures from camera to computer.

Clive's comments: "Susan loved the water lily house and she has taken a wonderful shot of the inside of it, showing off the delicate architecture of the metal and glass building. She also enjoyed shooting the individual water lily flowers and the image of the pink flower is striking."

For more information on Samsung SDHC Memory cards have a look at our Samsung SDHC MicroSDHC review.