The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
After the long, cold, hard winter, every single bud feels so precious and so full of hope. I wanted to contrast the dead, dark browns of winter in the background with the bud that’s bursting with color and life and ready to jump into spring.
Specific Feedback
Does it seem oversharpened? I’d appreciate any other feedback.
Technical Details
Fuji X-T5
Fuji 80 mm macro lens
f/16, 1/250, ISO 400
On-camera Godox flash + Cygnustech diffuser
Processed with DxO Photolab + Nik Color Efex + Photoshop
I know how you feel about the positive energy of little buds just waiting to burst on the scene. Here in Northern Wisconsin it’s just on the edge happening. I like the dramatic angles and colors here and I think that the contrast with last year’s leaves works well, too. The light looks a bit flat and harsh though, especially in the smooth highlights of the bract on the right and the stem. Toning those down might be a good idea. At the largest size I didn’t see any oversharpening weirdness, so to me that looks fine.
Canan, this looks fine from a sharpening point of view. You’ve also caught a fine cluster of young leaves about to pop with the stem nicely angled through the frame. My one suggestion is to burn-in the stem so that it’s not brighter than the leaves. The details in the leaves are great.
Thank you for the critique, Kristen :-). The light was coming from the flash, and I agree that it would have been a good idea to turn it down a bit. I’ll keep that in mind next time. Thanks!
Canan: Good suggestions from @Kris_Smith and @Mark_Seaver . This is a nice find and if you hadn’t disclosed it I would not have suspected flash which is a very good thing IMO. No problems with the sharpening from my angle. When you overdo it you’ll often see faint haloes around sharp edges and I don’t see any of that. Overall a nice reward for you efforts. >=))>
Thanks, Bill. Sharp pictures are so important in macro photography that I’m often not sure whether I go overboard or not, so it’s good to be reassured by an objective person that I’m not
