The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Our cactus flowers bloomed a couple months ago but I noticed last week that they were budding again. I watch them closely as the buds grow fairly quickly. Last night they were all closed and I expected that two or three of them would open overnight. Imagine my delight when I checked this morning and all eight of them had bloomed! >=))>
Specific Feedback
I flipped the first image horizontally. In the original capture the three pincushions seemed to compete with the flower whereas when flipped I felt like the comp flowed better and the threesome was a complement instead of a competitor. Your thoughts?
Technical Details
Image 1
Sony A7rIII
Sony FE 70-200, f2.8 GM-II @ 191mm
ISO 400, 1/60 @ f8, 23 shot stack in Helicon Focus
Image 2
Sony A7rIII
Sony FE 70-200, f2.8 GM-II @ 200mm
ISO 400, 1/320 @ f5.6, 26 shot stack in Helicon Focus
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Both of the images are lovely, Bill, particularly the first one. I think the flip was wise as it does seem to flow very nicely. It’s interesting to see your planter with that mob of cacti in it. How big is that thing anyhow?
Dennis: It’s about 18-24 inches in diameter. We inherited it from a neighbor who moved. Chrissy and I (mostly her) repotted it in this larger pot early this year, an exercise I recommend only if you’re into inaccupuncture! We actually were worried that we had damaged it but it has come back with a vengeance. We had our first flowers last year and now it has already bloomed twice. The only bad thing is that the flowers fade quickly. They’ll be pretty pathetic tomorrow but today was a good day. >=))>
Beautiful images. I particularly like the first. The color contrast works well, and the circular patterns of the cactus spines echoes that of the center of the bloom.
Bill, the horizontal view is lovely and inviting, even as it’s filled with spines! The visual contrast between the spines and that lovely pastel flower works great and I’d say you got the luminosity of the flower perfect. I do see some “stacking overlap” artifacts along the top of the flower, which has me wonder if going to f/16 (or higher) might fix. Since there’s no oof portion, more dof wouldn’t have an effect on the final view.
The vertical looks darker, which reduces it’s presence by comparison.
I like the the first horizontal composition, it seems to have more “life” in it for some reason. I love the light and the colors, they just jump right out at you. I especially like the delicate almost paper or silk like quality of the blossom.
