The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I went to one of my favorite local haunts, the Lowe’s Water Gardens, Saturday and indulged myself with water lilies, dragonflies and LOTUS! When I was there several weeks ago the lotus were budding but had not yet bloomed. Lowe’s is the only place around here I’ve seen lotus and I’ve wanted to shoot them for a long time. This was the most perfect bloom of the bunch. >=))>
Specific Feedback
Believe it or not this was growing at about eye level and I’m 6’4". I would have liked to get more above it but had no way of getting a higher POV. My tripod can extend to almost 8 feet but I could not get a decent view of the screen which does not articulate freely on the A7rIII. I may take a stool next time but I’m still pretty pleased with this angle. It was windy so no way to do a stack but even with this tiny aperture I think this turned out well.
Technical Details
Sony A7rIII
Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM-II, 2xTC @ 230mm
ISO 400, 1/60 @ f32
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Very nice for the limitations! They open in the morning (maybe mid-morning) and close at night and re-open for 2-3 more days. This is a second or even third day bloom. It can be a little tricky to guess when a bud is about to open but well worth the effort.
I managed to shoot them for two years at a somewhat-local botanical garden (also not an easy reach), before a crew hired to clean up a noxious weed in the nearby pond ripped them out! They finally gave up on hoping there was a shred that would grow back, and planted more. I heard they had a couple of blooms this year but I couldn’t manage the timing.
Bill, this is a very original look at the lotus - there are so many rather dull shots of perfect blooms around. I really like that there are just the (more or less) two colors plus black to make them pop! At my fairly local pond yesterday I was absorbed with the dragonflies. Must go back there soon for the blooms. You got an excellent angle to show off all those "whatever they are"s. No improvements needed that I can see.
Very nice, Bill. I likethe angle you got, regardless of how it was done. Interesting that it was so high-I always thought they bloomed just above the surface. The colors and shapes work very nicely here. It’s really an excellent composition.
The comp is very nice with the center of the flower in the LH third of the frame. The diagonal formed by the lower RH petal leads the eye to the flower’s center. Overall, you achieved a wonderful image while overcoming many obstacles. Next time you may have to head over there on a bright, cloudy day…Jim
There are so many wonderful things in nature to observe, appreciate and enjoy!
The subject, details, colors, composition, the background and more were all well captured IMHO!
I can’t think of a single thing for improvement.
It’s just a pleasure to view and enjoy!
Thank you for the backstory on how you managed to capture this, as well as how high in the air this was situated.
I have the Sony A7RIV, the screen tilts down and up to a point but not sideways like some do.
I decided a while back to buy a middle of the road HDMI external monitor so I could view the subject live no matter how the camera was oriented.
In my case, low to the ground shooting is impossible without an external monitor, of course there have been times when the external monitor came in real handy for overhead shooting.
It’s just an option and something to think about.
