The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic + Technical
About This Image
I snapped this on my lawn - almost in a drive-by way - and didn’t think much of it at the time. I was just playing around with my new lens and camera. When i started processing, I noticed i could play around with different crops and try to make something out of the image. This is where i ended up.
I do see some flaws in it and wonder if these get in the way too much?
(Thanks to @Bill_Fach for guiding me about the 3mb upload limit. Hopefully all the images are presenting well now.)
Feedback Requested
I’d appreciate feedback on whether the technical choices maximise the potential of the image. Are there other options that could have been taken?
Technical Details
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Lens: RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
Focal length: 500mm
Shutter speed: 1/250s
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 250
Handheld
Processed using Lightroom.
Mostly about a hundred different crops tried and a fair bit of masking, dodging and burning. Some spot removal.
Doug: Beautiful tones and details with just the right amount of drops to add a lot of interest. Your processing of the top image looks spot on to me. The second which I’m assuming is unaltered is underexposed but as you’ve demonstrated that can be overcome in processing. However, you will get a bit more information to work with if you expose a bit more to the right on the histogram. As for the finished product it is very nicely composed, captured and presented. >=))>
First of all, I don’t think I’ve done so yet, so welcome to NPN! Great to have you here!
Fabulous image! Great job taking the original and creating this beauty. The light-catching drops are wonderful as is all the detail of the autumn leaf.
I can see how you might have gone thru many iterations and crop options with this. There are definitely options! And I think you really zeroed in on the story of the drops and the light.
As presented, there are just a couple minor things I’ll mention. The stem branch at the bottom. One of my quirks are things near the edge. My little guideline says, “if you’re going to include something, include it on purpose.” That little vein branch - either I want to see more of it, or none of it. With that in mind, that helped with the crop idea below. The second, very minor suggestion would be the desaturate the patch of red on the right edge; or maybe just burn it a little? I love the color, but compared to the rest of the leaf, it pulls my eye to that edge. a little.
Actually, and I hope you don’t mind… I edited with my two suggestions above. The AI cloning in LR/ACR is phenomenal! So I removed that little branch and then softened the red in ACR using a brushed mask.
The second try I attempted to include more of that branch - avoiding that “in between” case of the original. In full disclosure, in order to make that crop work, I used the “transform:skew” tool to pull a couple corners to make it work. In the end, it’s NOT better than your original! Part of the reason is that the focus gets softer the further down the leaf you go. But if anything, I wanted to include more of that offsetting little branch. But I don’t think I improved anything…
It’s a beautiful image and end result. I can understand why you spent time with this! Most certainly worth your efforts!
I guess using the Tools, I can’t upload more than one example. Here’s the second example crop that includes more of that little branch. But I don’t think this works so well with the much bigger blob/drop on the lower left. Oh well.
I think you did an excellent job isolating a good area to process, Doug, and the processing looks pretty good to my eye. There are always alternate ways to take things in something like this. I don’t know whether you played with it or not, but rotating the original image while cropping can sometimes give you a more interesting area and lines. I might have brought the shadows up a trifle or played with the point color in the LR color mixer panel to modify the luminosity and saturation of particular tones, though that can be tricky as you sometimes get sharp transitions that aren’t natural.
The detail n your final image is exquisite. And I would be quite happy with this result.
Experimenting with a new lens is always a good time:o) What a lovely autumn leaf. The crop really makes a difference, and the drops magnify the detail beautifully. I agree with removing the vein at the lower part of the frame, but the colors and details really bring out the fall feel. Well done!
Doug, a belated welcome to NPN. This is a very attractive macro. I like seeing the shadows of the drops, and imagine you could get in much closer for another interesting shot. With Lon’s removal of that red vein, I like this as it stands. Great detail, you must love the new gear.
OH – this is gorgeous!! I love water drops on leaves and you have done them justice here! I love the composition, detail, colors and tonal gradients.
I’ve been using that camera and lens since they came out and absolutely love them. I have others but this is my goto kit. Don’t hesitate about the TCs – the 2X is wonderful! If there is any microscopic loss of sharpness it is more than compensated by the simple Sharpening slider in LR, and is likely due to intervening atmosphere as much as optics.
Doug, Yes, welcome to NPN and the Weekly Challenge. You’ve picked out an excellent area from the original to process and your processing looks fine. The details in the leaf and it’s colors look great. I would do a bit more dodging in the upper right corner as the darkness there gets some extra attention. The original is the kind of view where I would take quite a few variations at different caamera angles looking for the “best” placement of the leaf ribs and the water drops. There are multiple alternative crops here. e.g. I coud see a square crop that includes the three main ribs, their branching point and more of the drops, although that wouldn’t show off the leaf details as well…
The colors are nice and rich and the water drops work like tiny, spot magnifiers. Your edits look good and I would leave the shadows alone for now. They add depth to the comp. Well done and a belated welcome to NPN…Jim
Lon - Yes, i agree with all your points. That branch is a distraction, as is the bold red on the right side, and even that patch on bottom left. In the past few weeks, I’m coming to appreciate that if the raw material isn’t there, it becomes extremely difficult to fix some of the flaws in post-processing. Perhaps this is one of those times where it just becomes too hard to fix all of the problems and maybe it would be better to go outside and find a better leaf! But thank you for your suggestions and edits - i will file away the ‘distractions at edges’ tip for future use.
