The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I have a small reef tank that contains about 40 species of aquacultured coral. Leptoseris is a type of encrusting coral that can be found growing in tropical coral reefs of the South Pacific. The polyp opening or mouth glows bright green in response to blue wavelengths of light. The shadowed regions are showing this trait nicely. I posted a photo of this coral a long time and it has grown quite large and contains many regions worthy for photography.
Specific Feedback
I thought about cropping out the light region in the upper RH corner, but decided to leave it which conveys the 3D surface of the coral. What do you think?
Technical Details
Z9 105mm f2.8 Micro (1/200 sec at f16, ISO 125, 4 flashes set at reduced power for lower side of frame; 87 image stack. Levels, Topaz DeNoise AI, Microcontrast boost. Minus saturation of orange…Jim
Jim, I like the angled light, dark, light strips going from lower left to upper right. I agree that those changes help convey the 3D nature of the coral. I do think that some burning-in in the upper right would balance the viewing. That might be just darkening the brightest parts, but some mid-tone burning would show more color and contrast…
Awesome coral, Jim. I really like the image and if someone didn’t know you had a reef tank, I doubt they’d guess the subject. To me that almost white line in the upper right pulls my eye too much, so I’d go with the crop.
Fascinating and beautiful. Maybe darken the light area in upper right? Initially I thought a vignette might be helpful, but it would probably soften the beauty of some of the corner corals.
Jim, quite an impressive abstract image with so much to explore. The colors are excellent. I would never would have guess coral. The patterns in the image are mesmerizing. I enjoy looking at aquariums. The plants and fish are so hypnotic to watch.
Good job on addressing the bright highlights. Not an easy correction to make. I’d like to suggest bringing the highlights back just a small amount.
This is a really cool image Jim. I love the intricate designs throughout the frame. You’ve done a nice job toning down the URC a bit which just makes a really good shot that much better.
