A Warp in Reality

[Bonnie_Lampley]

Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction

Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.

Questions to guide your feedback

Looking for your initial reaction, whatever that may be.

Other Information

Please leave your feedback before viewing the blurred information below, once you have replied, click to reveal the text and see if your assessment aligns with the photographer. Remember, this if for their benefit to learn what your unbiased reaction is.

Image Description

There is a local nursery that never disappoints as far as photographic interest. I always bring my camera while my husband shops. The tender plant section always has shade cloth over and around it. Where the trees in there touch the cloth, interesting patterns occur.

Technical Details

Hand held, exposure/contrast adjustments. This is not a selective color type image, even though it looks like it.

Specific Feedback

Do you sense a relationship between the tree and the “background”?

Does the apparent selective color look contrived?

[Dennis_Plank]

Looks like some of my clothes, Bonnie I really like what you did with this one. The distorted layer adds some real interest to the image and the branch tries to anchor it in reality. A neat dichotomy. I’m not sure about the green leaves. To me they don’t seem to add to the story.

Now that I’ve read your description, I realize it’s not two layers and that makes it even more interesting.

[Jim_Gavin]

My first response: Takes me back to many years ago when I used to use Door screening to add interest to scenes. This looks like it was taken through a damaged screen of the tree limb and some shingles on a roof. Great image. Like it a lot.

[Don_Peters]

My first reaction was to be mystified but intrigued. That’s good.

[Bonnie_Lampley]

Thanks, @Don_Peters, @Jim_Gavin and, @Dennis_Plank.

I hear you about the green leaves, Dennis. I do like the green color; I tried b&w, but the leaves just looked blobby no matter what I tried. I think it wouldn’t be amiss to dial back the saturation, though. Thanks.

Oh, and thanks for the EP!

[Richard_Sandor]

Bonnie: as a rare visitor to this site I have to say I was really intrigued by your photo and wondered just how was it done? In any event, I really like it and think that the touch of green gives the photo just the right bit of a central interest point. Very creative.

[Ric_Federico]

@Bonnie_Lampley my initial reaction is to sit with the image for a while, let my eye play over and through it, and enjoy the pleasing aesthetic, motion, and intrigue of it. That’s a successful image to me. Well done!