The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was out to shoot pilings on the beach at sunrise and walked past this rose which had been dropped. I was attracted to the contrast between the soft flower and the textured, pockmarked sand with the indentation from the flower and the traces of wave motion that had come and gone sometime earlier.
Specific Feedback
In post, I color graded the sand cooler and also enhanced its contrast. Did I overdo it?
Technical Details
Olympus OMD EM1 Mk II with Olympus 12-100 f4.0 at 25mm and f6.3. 1/50 sec at ISO 200.
I got two emotional responses to this image, first some kind of sadness as the dropped rose to me indicates unrequited love and second a sense of beauty since this is a very beautiful image.
I like a lot the shape of the rose and the color scheme of all of the image. As I said, I like the colors but maybe the sand is too blue if you want to clearly show that the rose is placed on sand? Before I read that the rose was situated on sand I thought it could have been dropped on ice.
The even light works well for this image.
Have you tried to go the other way and instead soften the sand?
I would have liked a little bit more space at the top.
Just a few ideas, anyhow I think the image is great as is.
This is gorgeous, Ron. I like some of the ideas @Ola_Jovall came up with, but I also like this as posted. At first I was going to also suggest more room at the top, but this gives me the feel of the rose being washed away which enhances the somewhat sad feeling of the image.
I’d love to keep this image in this forum, but it would fit just as well in Flora and I think you might get more feedback there. If you would like it moved, let me know and I’ll take care of it.
Thank you @Ola_Jovall and @Dennis_Plank for your interest and comments. I have not tried softening the sand, but I’ll play with that. I did crop the top a bit, primarily because there were a couple of shells (which I actually liked) but thought they might lead the eye out of the frame. I’ll revisit that. Dennis, I’ll take your experienced advice regarding the move to Flora.
This suggests a story! Why is a beautiful rose being washed around in the surf? I like the amount of space and framing. The sand is a bit too blue and crunchy for my taste, though. Probably because I see a story of lost love or some such thing, so the high contrast/high color sand doesn’t match that feeling.
I love this image! Don’t have much to add to what others have said. I also get a sense of sadness. While the blue works for me. it would be interesting to see what it looks like with less blue and more softness in the sand.
Definitely a story here - in fact, it would make an excellent cover for a romantic novel. I like it as is, as the story too might well be a little bit over the top. I also like the bits of shell.
Funny, I think people must do “romantic” stuff at the beach and then leave their trash behind. I’ve found roses like this one at beaches, too. None so artfully arranged though. Great making treasure out of trash. Was the sand really that blue? Sometimes sky reflections can show up in the oddest places. I like the bit of beach wrack around the blossom and the different shades in the sand. Quite nicely done.
Thank you @Ola_Jovall, @Dennis_Plank, @Bonnie_Lampley, @Cathy_Proenza , @Mike_Friel and @Kris_Smith for your interest and thoughts on this one. In the repost above, I did try softening the sand rather than adding contrast and I do like that result. I also cooled the sand only slightly this time. Honestly, I could go either way on the color of the sand myself.
To my eye, it looks as if you dropped the saruration in the rose on the repost, Ron. To me the vibrant colors of the rose were an important part of the story.
Dennis, thank you for catching that! I inadvertently turned off a layer when doing the work on the repost. I have corrected that and put the repost up again.
Ron: I’m late to this party but have enjoyed the discussion. I like the artistic aspects of the original with the blue sand and the more “real” presentation in the repost. A really nice find and good work on the presentation. >=))>
I like a lot the more smooth sand in the rework. Regarding the sand colors, for me the blue increases the beauty of the image while the rework emphasizes the story. Maybe your vision for the image determines which color you finally choose.
