The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Getting a new camera and lens is exciting. My first visit to Tokyo coincided with this - though it was no coincidence! I quickly went out for a test, and was attracted to this unusual bush in the private cemetery of a rich Japanese family. The backlighting on a sunny autumn day enhanced the colors as I focused on the most beautiful leaf.
PS At first I thought it was a ginkgo and posted it as such, but looking again at the shape of the leaf, it’s definitely something else, but I’m not sure what.
Specific Feedback
I tried to capture the exact colors and don’t feel I oversaturated - but what do you think?
Technical Details
Olympus OM1 + 60mm f2.8 macro 1/160 f8 ISO 200
Removal of some bright eye magnets in the BG. Minor adjustments to tonalities in PS.
Mike, congratulations on your camera purchase. What a joy it must be to try new things and create such a fine image. I do love the colors, but I will say this. I love rich colors. When it comes to macros, such as this, it is hard to judge if the colors are overboard or not. I think they are just fine. The backlighting worked to your advantage, for sure.
I think I would be nitpicking by mentioning this. The dark horizontal branch on the left side of the frame and that light arch right above it create a distraction for my eyes. If you think it is an issue for you, that can easily be remedied with their removal. Otherwise, I would not change a thing about this beautiful image. So vibrant and full of texture!
Congratulations on the new gear, Mike. Did you buy them in Tokyo? Not having seen this it’s hard to comment on saturation, but I’ve certainly seen fall leaves as vibrant as this. The lighting is great. I would suggest removing the out of focus dark twig coming in from the left and the bright out of focus arch right above it-both of them pull my eye that way.
Wow, Mike. The color and detail are phenomenal! Can’t deny the twig and horizonal line, but the leaf is so amazing it keeps pulling my eyes back to it! Nicely seen.
Mike, congratulations on the new gear! IMO, the saturation is not over the top and adds richness to the image. I do agree with the above suggestions for improvement as well. FYI, I also use Olympus gear, so hopefully we can share tips from time to time. Happy shooting!
Thanks @Dennis_Plank@Egídio@linda_mellor@Ron_Meeker and @Jim_Gavin. I’ve removed distracting bits - funny how you sometimes don’t even notice these things till someone else points them out! Yes, I did @Dennis_Plank .Tokyo is great for camera shopping, esp. at current exchange rates. And I liked the place very much.
Mike: Good job on the repost. My only other suggestion would be to make the partial leaf tip on the center top go away. For some reason the one in the URC doesn’t bug me as much.
Your story about your camera purchase jogged some memories. I was in the Air Force stationed in Korea in 1976. I was a player/coach for the base basketball team and we went to Tokyo for a tournament in January 1977. While there I bought a Minolta XK for about $250 -300 which for me at that time was real money. It was Minolta’s attempt to compete with Nikon for the professional camera market and was a pretty nifty machine. It was my last manual focus camera and lasted many years until the shutter finally gave out. That trip was also notable in that I had been in Korea by myself since August but after being there my wife decided to meet me in Tokyo and then came back to Korea with me for the remainder of my one year tour. We really enjoyed the time there and I’m fond of telling folks that our first son was made in Korea.
Thanks, @Bill_Fach - I’ll deal with that leaf tip. What a story. I’m so glad you enjoyed being in Korea , and especially that your wife came out too! Great memories. Maybe you have some good photos from that time taken on that camera? Which makes me think that we could perhaps have a section on this site devoted to old film shots (taken in the last century?). I have some slides from the Eighties but have no skill in converting them to digital, which is probably a major deterrent to many.
