During the golden hour the sun was setting, I like the back light on the milkweed. Sometimes you take chances with such dramatic light but I kind of like this one. Had forgotten about this one but came across it while doing some organizing. I have not used this camera in years but always like the quality of the images when I did use it.
Specific Feedback Requested
I wonder when you look at it do you see any technical issues I might try to work on to make it more of a quality image.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Fuji XPro1, 300mm lens at 230mm, 1/300sec, F8, ISO400 = Apeture Priority - Pattern metering. Oct. 16, 2018.
Not much help with the technical aspects of the photo, Norma, as I still miles to go before I am comfortable offering advise. However, I do love the exciting/anticipating feel of the milkweed. Backlighting worked great, IMHO. Nicely done.
Oh milkweed is so fun to shoot and the backlighting works a treat here. In terms of composition, there’s some room for improvement - the background ‘slices’ through the main subject in a way that is a little disrupting. I also don’t love the OOF plant in the lower right. Possibly neither were possible to avoid, but maybe doing a little hunt and peck would have resulted in a more pleasing composition.
Processing-wise I have a few ideas - depending on how you embrace or reject cloning, you could have a go at getting rid of the OOF plant. It’s big and if you have more of the shot that is cropped out, use the uncropped photo to do the content-aware fill or whatever method works best. Maybe the top little branch under the seed pod could go, too. I’d also increase exposure and whites on the milkweed itself and decrease it in the background. Just a little. The colors and patterns are nice.
I thunk the milkweed itself is wonderful but agree with @Kris_Smith on the BG and the bit in the LR. I think the pinkish gold in the BG could be desaturated and the contrast reduced, and the piece in the LR cloned out. I’d probably crop to remove the darker area at the top, too.
Norma, this is so cool. The focus is certainly on the Milkweed. I actually think the background is a distraction and can see a tight crop of just the Milkweed to really highlight those wonderful seeds and white…
Something like this, (I hope you don’t mind):
