Lotus

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1

Lotus.jpg
Lotus.jpg2000×1393 352 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

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

Description

Living in East Asia, I feel I have no excuse for not visiting a local lotus pond, one with a multitude of blooms. But when I get there I find it hard to “see a tree for the woods”, as they seem to straggle all over the place. I get the same feeling of being spoiled for choice in front of a multitude of birds on water. Anyhow, I eventually picked this one out, as I liked both the flower and its surroundings. It was also low down so easy to access.

Specific Feedback

I was torn between processing it sharp, or else soft. In the end I went for softness, and dialed down the vibrance to achieve this. A good idea or not? Also, are you bothered by the leaf being so close to the left edge?

Technical Details

D500 + 150-600mm (@350mm) 1/500 f14 ISO 250

In LR, Blacks and Whites, then moved Vibrance to the left. Denoise. In PS Highlights adjusted and a small slice cropped off the right.

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2

Hi Mike,

This one turned out well with a very busy composition. The flower dominates so it grabs the eye over the elements of the BG. The softness is OK and like colors of the petals. We have a native lotus species in Michigan and they are always growing among leaves and stems like this one. Fine as presented…Jim

3

Mike: These are such striking flowers and I think you did great with this capture. I especially like the play of light and shadow and think your processing decisions work great. I think I would crop some from the left to fix the leaf edge and to also eliminate that little dark sliver in the ULC. A flip so the flower is “looking” left to right is another consideration. Overall a marvelous subject superbly presented. >=))>

Mike
Mike1874×1393 664 KB

4

What a gorgeous flower. The processing looks very nice and the detail throughout is excellent.

I do like @Bill_Fach’s rework.
-P

5

@Preston_Birdwell @Bill_Fach @Jim_Zablotny : Thank you for your comments. Bill’s version has improved it, I think. The flower facing to the right seems more natural and comfortable. It would be interesting to see a shot here of the North American lotus one day; I see that they’re yellow.