REWORK (considering Igor’s comment about balance and a white frame; also gave the ice a bit more blue):
ORIGINAL:
Spotted this little still life at the edge of a lake, frozen but melting around the edges. It seem so perfectly arranged.
Any comments welcome. I cloned out some bits, but not all - any strays feel distracting?
Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 105mm, f/16, 1/160s, ISO 400. Cloning out bits; localized exposure adjustments.
Nicely seen, Bonnie. I especially like that you did not include the whole cone. It acts as an anchoring component to the scene. I also like the square presentation. Well done.
Great capture, Bonnie. It does look like a still life that nature has spent hours, maybe even days, composing. So nicely done. The detail, textures and various forms make for fascinating viewing. Very nicely done.
What a great little scene. I’ve been looking for these, having shot some before, but there’s too much snow. Stuff trapped in ice is so much fun. I also like the way you’ve only included part of the cone. Can you talk about why you did that or was it just a gut reaction?
Unique and interesting choice of objects and their arrangement. Yes, the cut off pine cone is well done but it’s that little moss right over it steals the show for me. What a stroke of luck it fell right there. It feels bottom heavy but I suspect a white frame would change that.
Thank you, @David_Bostock, @linda_mellor, @Kris_Smith, and @Igor_Doncov for your thoughts.
Yes, it was that little bit of lichen/moss that did it for me, too. It was so perfectly placed at the top of the cone. Your comment got me thinking about the overall balance, and I wondered if a looser crop would be better. I did that, and added the white border, in a rework.
Definitely a gut reaction. That is mostly how I compose these days. I just move around/recompose until I like it. I didn’t even consider including the whole cone - I have no frames with the whole thing. I think it was the upward pointing triangle of the cone, with the lichen as an exclamation point that I was considering, and then that swoop of pine needles.
The rework is much improved Bonnie. Excellent idea to add some space on the right and left sides as it is much more balanced. The upper circular dot is centered and the other two circular dots are equal distance from the edges. Adding blue improves this a ton and so does toning down the brightness of the cone. I must say that it’s the lichen than steals the show though. The white frame really sets the blue ice off as well.
I think the rework is a really improvement, but wonder why did you darken the pine cone as well as the ice?
It’s a very powerful image.
The rework is infinitely superior. This image reminds me of Jungian Sand Play - a form of therapy where the analysand instinctively choses objects from a vast array and, in a giant sandbox, creates a tableau. I believe that that is fundamentally how we dream - drawing from the vastness of consciousness that with which we are currently resonant and create a kind of tableau - the dream emerging all at once rather than sequentially. This image feels like that where everything in it is meaningful and meaningfully placed whether I understand its meaning or not. I think one of the reasons that the rework is so much more effective, besides the change in aspect ratio, is the way in which the ice appears to glow (the added blue, I suspect). In any case, a very intriguing image.
Thank you @David_Haynes, @joaoquintela, and @Kerry_Gordon.
Because I originally cropped this in ACR, not PS, I had to start over on the processing. Dumb, I know. Re-doing it, I thought that maybe the pine cone should be as prominent. Looking at it this morning, though, I’m thinking I darkened it a bit too much. Somewhere in the middle should do. Thanks for noticing that.
This is a good description of my compositional approach these days - looking for those little tableaux in the landscape, although without moving the parts around.
And again, thanks to everyone who took the time to comment - this is much improved with your input.
I thought the same as well but decided to not comment again and become a nuisance.
@Igor_Doncov and @joaoquintela - took your advice and backed off on darkening the pine cone. Replaced the rework.
Beautiful image. I love the texture and form as well as the exquisite detail.
