Purple Passion Flower

Image Critiques Flora Critiques
1

I wasn’t sure if this should be placed in flora critiques, or macro insects! Since my original intent was to photograph the Passion Flowers growing on my property, I decided to go with flora. The Carpenter Bee feeding on the flower is a bonus, as are the ants. :blush:

Purple Passion Flower 20AUG20
Purple Passion Flower 20AUG201500×1071 1.6 MB

What technical feedback would you like if any? Any

What artistic feedback would you like if any? Any

Pertinent technical details or techniques: Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm IS USM Zoom @ 260mm, f/8, ISO 1000, 1/1500 sec., Hand Held. Processed in Canon DPP and PSE Elements 12 and Topaz De-noise.

(If the background has been replaced, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

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2

Terry: I find this interesting in that I’ve never seen a bee work over a passion flower and we have a lot of passion flowers and bees in our garden. As for the image the harsh light is dragging it down. The details in the bee are lost in the shadows and despite its location on the flower one has to hunt for it a bit. I applied a fairly strong shadow/highlight adjustment which helps with the bee but then makes the BG more prominent. Back to you.>=))>

Terry
Terry1500×1071 1.45 MB

3

Thanks, Bill. It’s odd you never see bees on your passion flower. They are on mine nearly all the time. As for the overall photo, I originally highlighted it so the bee was more visible, but it was the flower I was more interested in. It was naturally highlighted by one spot of sunlight and everything else was in shadow, so that’s how I decided to leave it.

4

Terry: I think this is a good behavioral and floral image rolled into one. However, the background is busy and detracts from your subject and would suggest a crop that really isolates the flower. Part of the bee is dark and would benefit from a bit of selective dodging. Richard

5

Thanks, Richard. I played a bit with a different crop originally, and didn’t come up with one I really liked. Guess I need to experiment more! Thanks, again!