The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
As I walked along a path near the beach, the brilliant red leaves of this plant attracted my attention. I took several shots with intentional camera movement. I don’t recall if this is a single ICM image, or an in-camera multiple exposure of two images: a still plus an ICM. Either way, the beautiful colors seemed like Autumn colors, even though here near the ocean in Southern California we are nowhere near to Autumn!
Lo and Behold a little ways further there is a sign saying to Watch Out for Poison Oak, and I realize this beautiful plant is my lifelong nemesis. I got some bad cases of Poison Oak as a child and young adult, and then again about 3 months ago. I was very glad that this red beauty didn’t cause me to reach out touch it! Apparently its leaves turn very red this time of year,
I really like the brilliant colors, and the streakiness that ICM provides.
Specific Feedback
I cropped this to a square format, which to my eye collected the scene and colors better than the 3x2 aspect ratio out of camera.
Any comments are welcome!
Technical Details
Handheld at 1/13 second, 40mm, f/16, ISO 100
In Lightroom, some saturation and contrast added. Over to Photoshop for a slight Orton Effect (15), to add some glow
I really like this Mark, and believe the 1:1 ratio was a good decision. The clear outlines of leaves in some places (in the middle primarily) is intriguing to me, like cutouts of plant life that once was, and they do a lot to emphasize the movement of nearby leaves. Your combination of intense colors strikes me as warning signals to yield and stop, which I love because most nature photography I view trends toward the inviting or comforting. I think your choice of color to tell a different kind of story is really cool. Someone with more ICM experience could probably say a lot more about the technique & processing used, but these were just a couple of my initial reactions. Wonderfully seen.
Intriguing movement here, with the horizontal components. And happy colors that belie the reaction this stuff causes. It is everywhere on the CA coast – Point Lobos is famous for it, and it is common up here on the Sonoma Coast. Very similar to the Poison Ivy back east. Three cure little leaves with the middle one on a longer stem. (Strikes me that it is giving us the finger.)
Thanks for sharing your thoughts @KennyThatcher and @Diane_Miller. Much appreciate it!
I’m glad this image works for you both. I like your thoughts about the colors, Kenny. Bright warnings indeed.
Diane, little did I know how prevalent poison oak is further north from here. You probably are seeing this a lot now.
Mark, I’m glad you didn’t get in contact with those plants. That is quite interesting about the red leaves. I never knew that about poison oak. I like the movement you captured but find the background a bit distracting. I’m trying to think of some ways to mitigate that either in the field or in post. One suggestion would be to capture one image with fast motion at a very shallow depth of field. Then another one as you have captured to show some of the detail in the leaves. In post, it may be possible to blend the two to create a more uniform background while still allowing the leaves to shine through.
@Alfredo_Mora , Thanks for your creative suggestion for capturing the two images and then blending them in post to get the intended effect. I’ll give it a try next time!
Oh, yes, poison oak is quite colorful this time of year. I’ve been seeing it’s jaunty color every day on my walk. I like Alfredo’s idea of different shutter speeds for blending. You could do that in camera, also, I think, but it’s easier in post. Doing it in post gives you the ability to adjust colors, also, to make the images more cohesive (if that’s what you’re going for).
This is fascinating and wild! Love the bright colors (yikes about the poison oak!)
I definitely see a combo of a still and motion with much of the bg vegetation pretty sharp. But the combo of that with the brief motion of the colors really make this pop. It’s a mind bender for sure and an image where the viewer (at least me) remains engaged and needing to explore all the details edge to edge.
The only suggestion I have would be to add a little bit of a vignette - kinda like a moat around a castle, keeping everything inside (or preventing intruders from the outside!)
Thank you @Bonnie_Lampley and @Lon_Overacker, I really appreciate your feedback.
Bonnie, I think I’m this case in-camera is the way to go. My camera’s multiple exposure feature combines the images without saving the individual images. If it were individual images I could blur one layer and keep sharp the other. Oh well!
Lon, believe it or not there is a slight vignette already. I guess it needs to be a little stronger
