The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Our pin cushion cactus put out a flower a few weeks ago but only one bud matured. A bunch of them remained dormant until the last few days when a large number of them suddenly started sprouting. These two will probably open tomorrow or the next day but I thought they looked like two rockets preparing for liftoff. These are pretty spectacular flowers so I’m really excited to see these two open together. All comments welcome. >=))>
Technical Details
Sony A7RIII
Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM-II @ 197mm
ISO 400, 1/20 @ f11, 9 image stack
I definitely see the rocket Bill. Maybe like firework rockets, they will explode like your last beautiful cactus flower did! I really like the colors, DOF, and the perspective in this one.
Bill, these look very healthy and I suspect will produce some wonderful flowers. The stack has provided excellent depth overall. The pinnacles have a look of a scaled down aerial view of the Vandenberg launch pad here…
Bill, you’ve got some great drama here with the sharpness in the spikey background and good separation between the buds and their “host”. If you go to the largest view, there’s touch of softness around the buds and soft lines across the bud stocks. Are you hand adjusting your focus?
Mark: I am adjusting the focus manually. With my 70-200 I get a magnified view as I adjust manually. I’m still just using Photoshop to stack and haven’t pulled the trigger on Helicon or Zerene. I still enjoy and prefer single capture but I’m softening. You know how it is with old dogs learning new tricks. >=))>
Well, that’s one way to keep the tourists off the launch pad! This certainly resembles modern rockets with the enlarged payload, Bill. Your stack looks very good and it provides great context for the “rockets”. I’m not usually fond of 2/3 verticals, so I think you might crop up from the bottom a trifle-maybe to that circle of spikes around the center of the lower plant.
Very cool!! And an appropriate title! Wonderful lighting and I LOVE that BG!!! Stacking was a great idea here. You’ll find Zerene or Helicon can handle overlaps much better than PS.
Fantastic capture, Bill. The detail in the cacti is incredible. I was interested to read you are using PS to stack. I have tried it in the past and then moved on to Helicon. It is a great program, however, I have come to the conclusion that it is not for me. Thinking I’m going to give PS a shot again. Thanks for inspiring me to do so. Great shot!
@linda_mellor, PS is good if you don’t have overlap — meaning it’s good looking at an angle down a sidewalk. But it won’t work on something like the stamen on a hibiscus flower at an angle against a petal. That needs Zerene or Helicon.
The spines add essential texture and the two buds are different enough from the BG to generate a lot of interest for the observer. This reminds me of a hyper-realistic painting that and like this one as presented…Jim
Since you already “own” PS, it’s a fine starting tool. However, it is notorious for including soft edges in what it defines to be sharp and it’s almost impossible fix those areas.
Love this, Bill. It was a little disorienting ( in a good way ) to me at first. It almost looked like the cacti were under a plate of glass with the “spikes” and buds on top. Well done.
>=))>
…I just did a single shot flower!