The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I love the lines and simplicity of agave and have taken many photos of them and tried to process them to capture something I want to print. I’ve never been very successful. This image is the closest I’ve come.
Specific Feedback
I’d love to hear you’re impression of this photo and any suggestions you may have to improve it.
I love the geometry and the way the red edges outline the leaves, Chris. I’m sure it’s natural, but I find the light patches on some of the leaves a bit distracting. I keep wanting to reach out and wipe them off. Other than that, the only thing I might try to change is a few specular highlights in the bottom of the image that you might want to remove.
Personally, I feel like this image is definitely print worthy, although, I do wonder about maybe doing some blending of the sections where there is a line between light and dark on the same leaf? Or is that a feature that you want to be there? Maybe I’m missing something about the “Aqua” part of the title?
Either way, the composition and DOF are both wonderful and I can easily see this printed and hanging on a wall.
Chris, this is one of those images that when we look at it, we continue to explore its nuances over and over. I really like the photo, especially for the red lines and softness in the agave leaves. Agaves tend to be very symmetrical plants. Although I love symmetry in photography, I have to say that I applaud you here for not going after symmetry. The image captivates in the way you presented it, Chris.
Chris, I too like the lines and simplicity of the agave, and your tightly cropped composition enhances the agave’s geometry nicely. The image reminds me of some of Tony Kuyper’s cell phone images. Tony also demonstrates how vertical lines, as in this image, can make nice pencil sketch images using Steve Dell’s process in TK9. In addition to @Dennis_Plank 's comments, I find the focus of the image too soft. Maybe focus stacking would have been useful here. for fun, I have attached 3 edits: first the sharpened version of what you have here; next Steve Dell’s color sketch; and lastly Blake Rudis’s 2 color gradient. Even though you can see how the color patches affect each version, I’d be proud of the overall effect you have created.
