The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Lookie what I found today -
Closed Bottle Gentian - this is a native species that I’ve found a few times on the banks of the Wisconsin river, but have never photographed well because they are 3 feet tall and move in the smallest breeze. These were bent low and resting on a rock underneath some birch trees so I got the kayak into the best position I could. Didn’t realize there was an insect there until I got it into Lightroom. Some kind of moth maybe? It looks like one.
Anyway, this is as “bloomed” as this flower ever gets. Not sure why it remains closed, but it must work as an evolutionary strategy since they aren’t endangered and are found throughout the state. I was happy to see them - that color is really bright and noticeable from quite a distance. These weren’t the only ones I encountered on my paddle from the backyard this afternoon.
Specific Feedback
It’s a wild shot of a wildflower and so not as distraction free as I’d like, but I think it works decently to show it in its natural state and habitat. I did some clean up and masking to showcase the flowers - was it enough?
Technical Details
Handheld in the kayak with the lens resting on the edge and using the flip screen to compose and focus
Lr for everything including a little crop and a lot of masking to reduce the background presence and enhance the flowers. Also used RAW details, denoise and some sharpening. Masked our little friend to make it stand out a bit more, but it really is black so I left it dark. Remove tool for some distraction removal.
Critique Template
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This looks good to me for a wild flower in-situ, Kris. You could probably tame the background more using the 50% clone method that @Diane_Miller uses, but I don’t think it’s necessary and doing it without losing the spider filaments would be a bigger challenge than I could cope with. I’m not much of a bugologist, but going by the antennae on the critter it looks more like a butterfly than a moth, though I suspect there’s some overlap here and there.
Your processing, for me, showcases the flowers very well. I am intrigued by the plants being 3 feet tall and these blooms are as “bloomed” as they get. The ones I see are blue gentians which grow close to the ground and open very beautifully. There appears to be another insect in the image .
Good one, Kris. The blue color is beautiful. The bright yellow areas in the upper right are somewhat distracting. I’d consider burning them a bit and maybe making them the same color as the surrounding foliage.
Kris, I have planted Bottle Gentian in my shade garden. They have yet to bloom, because the deer come through and munch them in the spring. This is a fine look at this set of blooms, showing the blooms and plant well along with the environment. The subject stands out nicely. The closed flowers are supposed to let only the stronger bees get in and pollinate although there’s a “cheat” who eats a hole through the flower by the base to steal nectar without pollinating the flower…
Kris: Anything you get from your kayak makes me insanely jealous . A great find for sure and I agree with @Dennis_Plank that wildflowers can be tough to compose because of the BG but I think you did really well. My only suggestion would be to tone down the light brown in the URC. This is my quick and dirty attempt but expect someone with your processing skills could do better. Great work even in the original. >=))>
With so far as the composition goes, I tried repositioning the kayak a couple of times, but couldn’t do better than this. There was a big stick just to the left of this shot that I really needed to get out of frame, but it was hard to do in my 12 foot giant shoe. LOL.
Cool info about the species, Mark. There has to be a reason for something this drastic. So far as I know this is the only Gentian species that never fully opens and yes, it really is quite tall, probably because it’s a woodland species and not prairie. Who knows. Either way, it’s a striking flower.
What an unusual flower! And the leaves add a very nice shape. I’m probably too inclined to clean up BGs, but this one isn’t bad. There is a gray area just underneath the flowers that is eye-catching and I darkened it. Then I couldn’t resist trying a crop from the right. Taking just a bit off the left gave a nice 1:1.
The comp is wonderful and the suggested edits and repost offer some improvements as well. I like the small caddisfly perched on the flower which is a natural label of authenticity. I have seen bumblebees crawl inside that tiny opening at the apex of the petals to get at the pollen and nectar. Well done…Jim
. A great find for sure and I agree with 
