The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This is from a day out at my local park. Towards the end of my visit I came upon a field with some interesting light reflecting off the brush. And then I noticed this snail.
Technical Details
I decided to make this a close-up to make the snail the main subject, and use shallow depth of field to isolate the snail and create bokeh with the colorful flowers in the bush.
An interesting composition, Dean. I do like all the cool bokeh circles in the background. I wish the top of the snail had more detail-any chance of pulling it out of the raw file? It would have been nice if that branch behind the snail weren’t going out of focus as the bright leaf cluster really pulls my eye away from the subject, but given the looks of this tree, I can’t see an angle that wouldn’t have created a problem that way. Maybe an even closer shot could have avoided that branch and still gotten the background bushes, but it’s difficult to tell.
Dean, this was a neat find. I don’t think I have seen them up in a bush before. It would have been nice to have had a frame filling image of him, for sure. You probably had a lens on that didn’t allow you to focus that closely. That’s where having a macro lens, or extension tubes in the bag is very useful. I agree with @Dennis_Plank on the bright leaf. Maybe in the field you could have moved in a different angle to help it not be as distracting. How many times though it is after I am viewing on the computer screen have I realized that I should have moved, tried other angles, especially on subjects like this where I don’t have to worry that I will scare them away! It is a pretty shell on this snail, and I do like the bokeh.
Thank you, @Dennis_Plank and @Shirley_Freeman. In the field I tried a few different positions and settled on this one. I might try burning the bright leaf cluster.
Dean: For me this image is about the sharp round shape of the snail against the bokeh of the BG. I like it a lot and don’t mind so much the bright leaves. Well seen and captured. >=))>
Dean, I like the quasi-minimalist view here, with the snail and the bush set off well by the oof highlights. This looks like a situation where a large number of alternative views would be fun to explore. With this view, I’d suggest two things; 1) burn-in the bright highlights in the branches and the top of the snail, and 2) dodge the bottom 1/4 for a uniform brightness throughout the background. The background is an excellent addition.
