Great Aspirations - New Crop

Image Critiques Flora Critiques
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StJohnsNewLife
StJohnsNewLife1510×1221 1.09 MB

StJohnsNewLife.jpg
StJohnsNewLife.jpg1893×1894 1 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This was taken from a boat on the Oklawaha River in Florida. It just struck me the tenacious little sprout might some day be as big as the log that gave it a good start.

Specific Feedback

Too much log? Too little sprout? Is the big gouge in the log too detracting from the overall story? Any suggestions and comments are welcome. Thank you for taking a look.

Technical Details

Canon 60D, f5.6, 1/1000 sec, iso 400, -0.7EV, 100-400 lens at 400 mm.

Critique Template

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2

I like this idea, Ed. I think that you could get more impact with less log, surprisingly. If people can only see the upper half of the log and less in the horizontal direction, imagination can make it huge, whereas you’ve pretty much defined the dimensions the way you presented it.

3

thank you @Dennis_Plank, another great suggestion for this image. I may have left a bit too much on top, but I was trying to center the little sprout as much as possible.

4

I like this a lot @Ed_Williams,. From the thumbnail I thought it was a person with an umbrella walking across a dry plain, so you definitely captured the sense of scale there.

I like the version with less log and the amount of sky is good, in my opinion. It gives us a sense of the space this little shoot has to eventually fill, what it’s aspiring towards.

I also like the square and centered version. I played around with an off-center landscape orientation and for me that emphasized the aspirational nature of not being somewhere yet. It’s worth playing with,

Thanks for sharing this!
ML

5

Thank you @Marylynne_Diggs, I hadn’t thought about an offset view of this, and it makes a lot of sense.

6

I love this a lot! I think the texture of the log is amazing. I might have reduced the highlights there just a tad. I actually think a vertical shot with the seedling just slightly off center showing the log from just above its center and showing more of the empty space in the background might be compelling. Well seen for sure!

1 Like
7

Ed: My immediate thoughts echo Paul regarding a portrait orientation which might make this even more aspirational. Another incidence of good seeing on your part. >=))>

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8

Thank you @Paul_Holdorf and @Bill_Fach. I will go back and make another crop when I get a chance.