I honestly don’t know off hand what plant this is, I photographed it in Huntington Gardens two years ago to the day with @Jimmy_Gekas. We got soaked to the bone in a nasty cold rainstorm, but a few images like this made it worth it.
Specific Feedback Requested
Do the tones feel okay? I kept the blacks from going pure black so they are nice and rich.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Nothing fancy here, shot at f/22 for DOF, I took some others focus stacked but this had plenty of sharpness despite the small aperture. Converted to B&W in Lightroom only.
Dramatic black and white David. Its lines lead the eye to where the points would merge, textures from the raindrops and tonal range are excellent. Only minor thought for improvement would be to eliminate some of the raindrops on the outer edge in black areas without detail. Great to see you posting in flora. Welcome.
David, the composition, the diagonal flow of the leaves, and the tonal range you’ve gotten are what caught my attention immediately. While the black and white add a dynamitic feel, there is, at least for me, a very nice rhythm to the image. Very nicely seen and captured .
Thank you ladies! I don’t do a whole lot of flora, but I now that I’m working them in black and white I may be doing a lot more as it seems to be what I’m drawn to.
The original looked a bit more rich in the shadows than it does on here so the spots in the ULC weren’t as noticeable, but I’ve toned those down in the rework and cleaned up a few spots. Pretty happy with how this turned out.
I’m playing catchup here after a few busy days. This is a wonderful subject for B/W, beautifully done. The cleanup is fitting for such a pristine subject. (An agave??) Beautifully composed with wonderful lighting. I don’t think florals are that different than landscapes.
I’m looking forward to a few minutes to absorb your new B/W webinar. The one about Rethinking LR has made me rethink what I thought I knew!
Great subject for B&W. The posture of the agave leaves just has so much energy. Obviously you have some strong diagonal lines here. But the leaf that grabs my attention is the one in the ULC, because it is pointing in a different direction than all the others. It’s like the other leaves are saying “conform, be like us” But the lone leaf is shirking away from the others. The rework takes an already good image up another notch or two.
Thank you @Diane_Miller, I certainly treat these subjects as little landscapes and love the potential hidden in them! I’m glad you’re enjoying the webinars so much, it sounds like they have been transformational for a lot of people which is so cool!
Thanks @Ed_McGuirk I actually hadn’t noticed the one going the other direction until you pointed it out! I’m sure this is some form of agave, I just can’t figure what exactly, it was a huge specimen.
Wonderful photo, David! Expertly composed and processed.
If you have a photo that includes more of the plant, you can probably get it ID’d using the iNaturalist app. https://www.inaturalist.org. When I photograph plants and fungi that I don’t know, I often snap a photo with my iPhone and then upload it to iNaturalist to get an ID.
David: Sorry to be so late to this party; I’ve been on a de facto sabbatical the past couple of weeks. I really like the flow of the image and the rework is a nice refinement of an already good conversion. Great to have you aboard here and looking forward to more. >=))>
David, Beautiful image! Love the diagonal composition and the lines, texture and the tonal gradation. Rework brings out the tones much better than the original.
Great image, David. The original is stunning, but the subtle changes took it up another notch or two. And thank you for putting together the B/W webinar; got a lot out of it.
I like both version, perhaps the original version a bit more as the white edges contrast more with the lighter grays in the leaves. I think the monochrome treatment is definitely the right choice here. to emphasize the shapes and lines.
