I thought this was really unusual and so i shot it. Works better with some color in it…
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I’m posting this one to get feedback… kinda strange and unusual … I need to get to the shore and capture nature as it moves with waves and wind and everything changing.
A very nice find, Gill. I don’t think I have ever seen little shells (not sure what they are) attached to a conk shell before. If it was mine, I might would either clone out the little white something coming into the image at the very center bottom, or crop it out just to keep it from pulling the eye. For me, I would have preferred a bit more room at the top as well, just to include that portion of the shell that is running out of the image. Might just be my taste. Just curious what your settings were, or if this was a stack? Nice find and capture.
Thanks. I shot it real tight and tried to capture as much detail as i could. Pretty weird looking Shell. Thanks for showing interest. Im new here and learning.
This is interesting for sure. I can see why you were attracted to it. I think those are barnacles - well, what’s left of them anyway. Such interesting shapes and textures there, especially contrasted with the shell which looks to me like bone. If those are the things that do it for you, too, I have a couple of suggestions.
First would be to add some sidelight somehow. Whether that’s a lamp, a window, and LED panel or a flash, sidelight is the best at bringing out texture and dimension. I often use an inexpensive LED panel to light small scenes for just that purpose.
The second is to make a definite choice when it comes to cropping. This is very tight for a view that shows a lot of the shell - the tips are cut off or very close to the edge and that doesn’t seem deliberate to me. Showing all of the shell is one choice or going in very close and making us wonder what the barnacles are on is another that could add even more mystery.
Hope that helps. Keep these intriguing little scenes coming. I’m enjoying them a lot. It’s one surprise after another!
Thanks. I just tried to get as close as I could and show detail. Can’t remember where I shot this photo. It was natural light. Thanks for showing interest. I don’t think I cropped any of the photo. It didn’t work in black and white. So I left some soft color in the photo. I’m working on my framing a lot. Got a new Nikon D7500 camera and it way better than my old one. Nikon 3200. Easier to focus and better ISO. Easier to access my Fstop settings. I do everything manual.
I think this is a wonderful and fascinating shell and you chose a good shooting angle. There are probably several tighter compositions here, but I love the composition that includes all the barnacles as they make a lovely sweep around the shell. The subtle color is wonderful and the shell does look like bone or ivory.
The details are fascinating but for me the tight composition at the edges creates tension, and that interferes with enjoying and exploring the subject. I would suggest shooting several looser compositions, leaving room for things to fit in the frame, then go in for much tighter compositions if desired. You’ll often see comments here about minimizing distractions at the edges, which I heartily agree with. That can include things like subtle burning as well as cloning.
And congrats on the new camera – you’ll find it a great improvement!
I couldn’t resist a bit of tweaking, but I totally get the idea of dancing to a different drummer. And on a wonky note (the pun was for @Kris_Smith) – what little of it I’ve had time to listen to, I dig your music. (But then I also used to love John Fahey – need to refresh that interest.) I’ll introduce both sons-in-law to it. Scott owns about 7 guitars (and a room full of keyboards and drums), and makes some magic with them.
