The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
My wife found this cool mushroom on the edge of our campsite at Table Rock State Park in South Carolina. Luckily it was on the top of a small gulley, so I could get well below it and shoot up. When I showed this to my wife, she said – jokingly – that I had done “spirt photography” and captured some ghosts. But, we photographers know that’s silly, and these are actually communications from aliens to this natural satellite dish.
Specific Feedback
Since I really like the bokeh and tried to frame it well with the mushroom, I thought a tighter crop might work better. Though, I do think I like it better with it grounded. But I thought I would ask what others thought. Thanks.
Technical Details
Canon R
RF 85 mm macro
1/100 sec, f/2.2 ISO 400
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Patrick, the “ghostliness” stands out strongly here, with the bokeh at the top and the bright rim adding to that sense. I much prefer the full view as the “fountain” of brightness fits well with the rest of the ghostliness.
Patrick, I too like the full view best. I think B&W really works for this image. That ring of light is certainly a nice addition, along with the POV from down below, a position we don’t often see of a mushroom.
I also prefer the full view. The cropped version feels a bit unbalanced and having the ring at the bottom of the stem cut feels odd. I like the shallow depth of field for the most part, but the out of focus highlighted edge of the mushroom cap feels a little odd to me
Thanks @Mark_Seaver , @Shirley_Freeman , @Dave_Douglass and @Dennis_Plank. Sometimes it’s not until after I’ve posted that I realize the one version is a little better as well. Anyway, yes I was trying to get just that front edge in focus and get the nice bokeh. But even though I was hand holding this, I wonder if I could have done a focus stack to get more of the cap and stem. And lessen the big out of focus stem and cap. Thanks for the observations and input.
Hi Patrick. It looks like your camera was on the ground or very close to it. I have taken advantage of that in the past to stabilize my arms/hands and managed successful focus stacks.
