String of Pearls

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Another oldie discovered going through my files. I spent a day in the fall of 2012 doing nothing but macro in the field. It was one of those fall days with a frost that then melted and produced lots of drops on spiderwebs among other things.

Specific Feedback

Does the composition work? Any other problems.

Technical Details

Canon 7D, EF 180 f/3.5 macro, tripod, f/5.6, 1/100, iso 320. Processed a couple of days ago in LR & PS CC. Lot of background out of focus drops removed including some that overlapped the ones shown. Selection tools were temperamental because the browns in the beads were the same as the background. Cropped to 4278x2663.

3 Likes

Dennis, I’ve tried shots like this, so know how tricky it is to get all the drops in focus - and to create symmetry. You’ve done a great job here. All I can say as a very minor suggestion is to clone out the very faint orange diagonal lines in the LRC and below the necklace in the L center. Or is it just my monitor? Well done.

They’re there. A little trouble with cloning/painting out the unwanted stuff. I need to work on making it nlend better.

OMG! This is fantastic!! Composition, focus and detail, BG – all wonderful!! I didn’t even see the lines until prompted – they look easy to remove with some 50% opacity cloning and a big, soft brush.

A trick I use to get even cloning on a smooth BG (and especially useful if it is very dark or light) is to put on a temporary Curves layer above everything and crank the contrast way up. That lets you see imperfect areas as you clone.

Thanks, @Diane_Miller That’s a great idea.

Dennis, I meant to view and comment on this earlier today. I have been doing laundry and taxes, so I will use that for my excuse. Such beautiful “pearls” and I love the refractions in them. Excellent shot.

Very cool! Can’t recall ever seeing anything like this in nature. Neat reflections in the water droplets.

This looks great Dennis. I seem to remember you having some of these several years back if I’m not mistaken. Getting them all in focus with such a nice BG is so good. I would recommend you see how it would look if you cut back a few beads on each end?

Dennis: Aptly titled and superbly captured. Love the refractions in the drops and that you left them as is. Just for fun I flipped it to put the refractions “upright” and it reminded me of the bouncing balls of Mitch Miller (or was it Lawrence Welk) fame. Marvelous image. >=))>

Thanks, Bill. Just goes to show-I never thought of inverting it.

Ohh, I like it flipped too. I never thought of that either.