The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
These profusions of Lycoris squamigera flowers get their common name partly from the way they suddenly spring up from the bulbs and out into the wide world at this time of year . The biggest surprise is that they have no leaves when they appear. In fact, the leaves will only come up next Spring. Each flower meanwhile will wither and die after less than a week, so I was lucky to find many groups like these yesterday outside a small temple. They are members of the amaryllis family and are native to Korea and southeast China. Sometimes you see them growing in wild areas, but mostly in gardens and parks. Their appearance without leaf cover has also earned them the name Naked Ladies. But I resisted “Naked Ladies at the Temple” as a title, thinking that this might attract the wrong kind of interest.
Specific Feedback
Do you prefer the shot in front of the temple door or the one by the stream bed and rocky bridge? In particular, do they have an acceptable balance of light and dark areas? (Adjusted later to remove distractions)
Technical Details
OM1 + 60mm macro: 1: 1/320 f5 ISO 400 2: 1/160 f11 ISO 1600
Both shots: LR for tonalities and Shadows/Highlights/Curves in PS. Some tidying of intruding bits, and cropping. Used Graduated Filter in LR to balance light and dark parts in the lower shot.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Mike: Interesting flowers for sure and thanks for the natural history lesson. I like both images and don’t have a strong preference for either after a few adjustments on the streamside shot. On that one the bright spots on the edge of the frame and in the BG foliage grab my eye and making them go away makes this one more pleasing. On the temple shot I like seeing the entire bunch with the temple and BG group pleasantly OOF. Nice find and solid captures. >=))>
I like what Bill did on the second image, Mike. It improves it considerably in my opinion. I really like the light on the foreground clump in the first image, but the strong highlights in the background clump and the lights in the background trees on the right tend to distract me from what I like. I don’t know if there was another angle to give a cleaner background or not, especially without changing the soft light on that foreground clump.
Thank you @Bill_Fach@David_Bostock and @Dennis_Plank for your advice and comments. Bill and Dennis, I’ve followed your advice about distracting elements and replaced the originals above with newer versions.
Oh! These are both beautiful images! I’m leaning toward the second as a favourite. Are these symbolic to the temple? I think you’ve got a good balance between the light and dark
Nothing like pink naked ladies hey! I have a friend who grows these and we have a chuckle every year. I mow over my rain lilies and when it rains (seems like all the time lately) the flower stalk appears with no leaves. I love the effect.
Glad you like the ladies, @glennie! I’ll try and find out if they are symbolic; but recently the temple seems to be unoccupied - if the monks appear I’ll ask them.