The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
In looking through images from Nome some years ago for a “spring” image, I happened to run across this image and thought it had some potential.
Specific Feedback
I had to add some canvas at the top as there was almost nothing above the second tier of blooms. Does it look ok? Also, I’m interested in what you think of the partial flower on the far right: keep, remove, subdue?
Technical Details
Canon 5Diii, EF 100 mm f/2.8 macro, hand held (I think), f/4.5, 1/8000, iso 1600 (no idea what was with those settings at this point). Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped from the bottom and a trifle from the left, added canvas on top which had to be cleaned up a bit. removed a couple of partial flowers/leaves intruding at the edge of the frame.
Dennis: I think the art of shallow DOF has faded in the era of stacking but I love this kind of stuff. You may remember on the old site that we often conducted SOA (Shallow On Arrival) challenges in Flora. This is a perfect and supremely crafted example IMO. Most excellent. >=))>
The settings are a little weird, but the photo works for me. I wouldn’t remove anything - it has balance and because of the limited DOF, my eyes stay on the parts that are in focus. This reminds me of some flowers in my former yard in NH - Whitlow Grass. It was a very early bloomer and had buds similar to these. It was low to the ground and I put the camera on a beanbag to get right down in the blooms. This scene is a bit less chaotic since the flowers look to grow in regular progressions with a single flower on each stem. If you hadn’t said, I wouldn’t have thought you added canvas, so no worries there. Thanks for digging this one up.
I am all about shallow depth of field, so this is very appealing to me. The combination of open flower and buds is lovely. There are three points of sharp focus that produce an interesting triangle for the eye. Awesome flower.
I’m not entirely sure that the stamens outweigh that bud to the right, which has contrast. So (because this is what I do) I’ll offer an edit that makes a few changes, most notably making the white much whiter, makes the yellow more vibrant, and overall stretches the histogram.
Interesting edit, Gary. I like the idea, though I might not push it quite that far as it start’s to lose the soft feel a bit if that flower is too white. I’ll have to play with it.
@Dennis_Plank Understood. I don’t know what color the flower is supposed to be, but I assumed it wasn’t gray. Maybe push it towards blue, but still brighter? Anyhoo…
Nice image! I love these Anemones (Anemone nemorosa I suppose). They are the symbol of the arrival of spring, at least in the place where I live… I like the subdued version you posted, maybe a bit lighter in the direction indicated by Gary, but just a bit…
Thank you, Antonello. While it looks like an Anemone, it’s scientific name is Dryas octopetala It’s a tundra plant which can make things difficult. When I was getting ready to go to Nome, I tried finding field guides for the plants and there was basically nothing that addressed the Tundra plants specifically that I could find. I used an image search to get the ID for this one and the description of habitat and form matched perfectly.
Absolutely! You are perfectly right. Also the posture is different. The Dryas can be found also at the higher elevations in the Alps - and its remnants/pollens in sediments are used as a signature of cold periods at the de-glaciation times (such as the so-called Younger Dryas and other similar periods) because it is associated with cold conditions. Thanks!
Hm…I like the detail in the petals in the original, but I like the life and vigor in the second. Maybe there is a way to get both or at least closer to both. Excellent POV, btw.
