Heceta Farewell 2
Soft Landing
Dueling Duets
Nestled
Stand Up Guy
Hurry Sundown
Sitting for the Camera
Living Dangerously
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
When this challenge came out I misunderstood and was posting individual images. Those previous two may have been my #1 and #2 for the year but with this opportunity to showcase other shots I started going back through the archives of 2024 and came up with many others.
Looking back this was a pretty good and productive year in many respects. As usual much of my work is done in our garden which continues to give me so many opportunities. But my master gardener (my wife Chrissy) did a lot more this year with cacti and succulents. We had a good crop of hibiscus, day lilies, iris, gerberas and others but the new stuff was a refreshing addition.
I also transitioned from doing most of my macro and flora work with my venerable Minolta 200mm macro to the FE 70-200 using extension tubes. I used to hate using tubes on zooms because of having to readjust focus with every slight focal length change but the AF features and accuracy of this lens coupled with my A7rIII fixed that aggravation. The 200mm now plays the role of a kindly grandfather who can still get out and do some work but is enjoying his retirement.
I finally knuckled under and explored the world of serious stacking. I was a single capture guy since growing up with slides and having to get the capture right. Velvia was a hard task master but it taught me to attend to detail in the capture. I still enjoy the challenge of getting the initial capture right and the attendant experience of the moment much more than the processing part of imaging but I’m slowly softening.
We used to get a lot of butterflies in the garden both nectaring and hosting caterpillars but that activity has waned quite a bit in the past few years. We do still have a lot of dragonfly action and I discovered a local water garden late in the year where the dragonflies are plentiful and various. The water lily season was pretty much over but I’m really looking forward to the spring and even to the possibility of planting water lilies in our own pond.
I started drone photography last year and earned an incomplete grade since I managed to crash and lose my first drone midway through my 2023 Oregon coast trip. I got back there in October and did much better. Still have a lot to learn with the drone and am mostly shooting stills but hoping to get into the videography possibilities in 2025.
I want to give special thanks to Shirley Freeman and Kristen Smith for all the help they give me as a moderator. If truth be told these ladies have done most of the heavy lifting this year and I’m grateful for their friendship, guidance and participation. May all of you have great subjects and even better light in 2025.>=))>
Technical Details
All images with Sony A7rIII and DJI Mini 3 Pro
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
- Vision and Purpose:
- Conceptual:
- Emotional Impact and Mood:
- Composition:
- Balance and Visual Weight:
- Depth and Dimension:
- Color:
- Lighting:
- Processing:
- Technical: