This image was captured a few years ago after an overnight rain and some heavy dew in the lower lupine field in Sugar Hill in the White Mountains of NH. I had to be really careful while setting this up as I did not want to bump the lupine and disturb the rain drops. I briefly thought about trying to clean up a little under the leaves, but decided it was not worth the risk of losing all those lovely drops of water.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
Overall I am relatively pleased with the image. How much of a distraction do you find the BG to be. Not sure if there is anything else I can do with it other than trying to burn it down a little more.
Technical Details
Nikon D700, Sigma 185 macro, f 22 @ o.4 sec, ISO 200, cable release and tripod.
Hi Ed,
that’s a beautiful macro shot. I love how all the water drops are lined up along the edges. All the leaves point to the large drop of water in the center of the plant.
The background is nice and blurry. In my opinion, there is nothing that really detracts from the beautiful lupine leaf. Maybe I would burn the brightest part of the background slightly that is visible on the left of the image. But this is not absolutely necessary.
It’s slightly difficult to distinguish between the BG and the leaves in much of the right side but that is actually a plus for me, it adds a bit of mystery in a way. It’s one of those images that makes me take the time to figure out what’s going on there.
The waterdrops are really nice! It took me just a second to figure out that the center was a large waterdrop, maybe I’ve been looking at the monitor for too long.
I also really like the refracted landscape image in the large drop at the center.
I think I see a self portrait in a couple of the smaller drops in the lower left side, maybe not but it might be your camera?
I like the sunburst layout of the leaves and large waterdrop! Very cool composition.
Like you, I would have been hesitant about moving anything for fear of losing the waterdrops.
Really lovely. The water droplets aligned along the edges of the leaves are like pearls of crystal that have been strung on a thread. The large drop in the center is like a crystal ball magnifying the leaves below. I really love the effect of the whole image.
Spectacular!! The BG does play with my brain in the areas where it is light, but that’s a good thing. If you have the time and patience, cloning the 2 darker areas in the UL and the one toward 5:30 would take it from a 10 to about a 20, but might take forever. It’s amazing as is! No one in their right mind would fault you for not gardening.
Ed, I think I remember this shot…but maybe not. It’s great as presented, with loads of detail in the leaves and the multitude of drops. The oof greens don’t bother me in the slightest, in fact an alternate approach might be to dodge the darker areas between the leaves.
Great capture, Ed. The off center composition really works here with the fan shape of the lupine leaves. The BG doesn’t bother me. I didn’t even notice the green patches till you mentioned them. Two thumbs up.
