The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was wandering around a Japanese garden in the evening, using it as an opportunity to try out my new Lensbaby Velvet 56. I think of this lens as a soft focus macro lens but when I saw these interesting reflections in the pond I took a few shots. I was attracted to the mix of geometric regularity and soft abstraction of the reflection. The images are fairly dark, which I like because to me it adds to the mystery, and is in line with the conditions at the time.
Specific Feedback
These abstracts are reflections of a pine tree in a small pond at a Japanese garden. I am interested in thoughts on how to crop the image. I’ve included two images, one of which mixes the needle reflection with reflections of mossy rocks and the second is just the reflected needles.
Technical Details
Both images were recorded with my Sony A7rv and the Lensbaby Velvet 56. I was using the Velvet for some flower closeups and these reflections caught my eye.
Focal length: 56 mm
Shutter speed: 1/20
Aperture: not recorded
ISO: 200
I like both of them, Joyce. I haven’t tried it, but you might play with rotating the first one 180 degrees to put the darker reflections in the lower right to see if you like it better. The reflections are awesome in both images.
Joyce, reflection abstracts in water are something that I do a lot of and enjoy thoroughly. Both of these look very good. One of the things that I like in an abstract like these is to have a similar of contrast throughout as light and dark become major attractors when recognizable shapes are not present. Thus, in I’d suggest some mid-tone dodging of the greens in the upper left of the first view. (I think you want to maintain the dark “lines” that define the shapes.) BTW, you can get vey similar views with a conventional lens as long as you use a fast enough shutter speed to minimize the water motion, I try for at least 1/30 s and usually faster. It’s an easy experiment to try.
Here’s where I am with the image. It was hard to lighten the greens to balance them with the blues because as you lighten them, you see a lot of detail (the green is from mossy rocks), which clashed with the solid nature of the blues. Anyway, interesting project in a location I return to frequently so I can keep working the subject.
