James, this image is lovely! Your black-and-white processing is well done. Love the water droplets. And the composition works. I was looking at the leaves at the top, wondering if they should be removed, but honestly, I think they’re fine. The mass of leaves that are the subject would be too centered then. The top leaves are natural and work for what I call “context.”
Yes, gorgeous, with wonderful tonalities! I think the leaves at the top could be darkened quite a bit, which works with being OOF. Not sure if it would give good separation from the leaf tip, though. I could want just a bit more canvas on the left and bottom, to give those two leaf tips more breathing room.
I agree with @Diane_Miller about darkening the upper leaves - and if you were to add more space at the bottom, it might be an idea to also darken (or even remove) the leaf cut off by the edge. But I’m really enjoying looking at this, and wonder which camera you used, as I’m getting interested in the OM1 mirrorless.
Wonderful image. I love the tones produced - great job on the b&w conversion. Also the details are excellent.
I would agree with the other about darkening the upper leaves; as Susanna mentions, just enough to help create some separation. but also keeping the eye on the main details and not pulled to the top of the frame. Very minor though.
The other nit is wishing for just a tad more breathing room on the bottom.