The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
aka Tall Meadow Rue growing down by the river. The first time I’ve been able to photograph this flower well. It’s very tall and growing on the riverbank in my yard. I originally sighted on a different plant from the dock looking into the yard, Definitely didn’t work. Then I noticed this other plant that only had the water behind it and voila! A little fill flash got me a pretty decent photo. Plus a little fly joined in for a little nectar breakfast.
Oh and this is a male plant. The plants are either one or the other and the flowers are so different that it isn’t hard to tell them apart.
Tripod/handheld: handheld
Focus method: SAF auto
Filters: none
Technique: with some light fill flash
Conditions:
Processing software: Lr for most of the basics, evening out tonalities and doing some sharpening & texture.
Major adjustments: Ps for some distraction removal and a touch of an Orton effect in the highlights through an action in the TK9 panel
Blending/stacking: none
Other notes:
Kris: “Thalictrum dasycarpum?”, easy for you to say ! Once I got past getting my tongue untangled from the title I thoroughly enjoy this image and glad you were able to get the water as the BG which works really well. This has a delightful spring feel. As for the fly, I don’t think it adds anything the way it’s oriented. If it was in a position where you could really tell what it is it might work but here it just looks like a dark blob in a sea of light joy. All that to say, it could go and not be missed but it’s still no more than a <1¢ nit. Top notch shot. >=))>
Very well done, Kris. The river background and touch of fill flash worked wonders to isolate the plant from the background-always a difficult thing to do photographing flowers in the field. I also like the way you composed/cropped the image as it feels very well balanced.
Wonderful. But wait, you have a river in your back yard? That is intriguing. Well, that river has made for a wonderful BG for the Tall Meadow Rue. The color contrast is just great and it really make the blossoms just pop of the screen. Keep the fly.
The one thing that bothers me are the shadows created by the fill flash. The use of the flash was a good call as it really helps bring out the plant. Its just the shadows cast on the leaves seem out of place, like why are there only shadows on the lower leaves but not on the leaves higher up on the stem - in other words why are the blossoms not casting shadows down on the leaves just beneath them? The shadows are pretty well defined and might be “easy” to clone them out if done carefully. Here is a quick and dirty attempt.
Thanks @Bill_Fach , @Dennis_Plank & @Youssef_Ismail - hm…opinions are divided on the fly issue. Funny. When I have time, which won’t be for a few days, I’ll post one without and fix the shadows - good catch Youssef! Didn’t even notice them. Doh!
And yes, the Wisconsin River is in my backyard. I live on a section between two dams so it’s like a lake with a little bit of current (1 MPH approx.). Because both dams make power, the water level doesn’t fluctuate much at all and it freezes basically solid each winter. So much so that the guy across sometimes hauls his ice shanty out with the pickup truck. He also gets his ATV out there and sometimes pulls the kids around on a tube on the snow, which honestly looks kinda fun. Quite handy for when I feel like paddling, but not driving or when the wind and weather cooperates, my friends tie 2-seater floats together, get dropped off at the dam upstream and we drift back to one of our docks having spent a few hours in the sun with beverages and plenty of laughter. We did this Monday.
Oh and when we landed and were hauling the floats out and onto a truck to be driven back to storage, my friend’s dog went a little more nutty than usual. So when she dove into the brush and there was a commotion, this happened -
She treed this guy, which I think was a juvenile and very scared. We corralled the dog, took pics and got out of there to leave it in some semblance of peace.
Kris: Quite a close encounter. Several years ago I came across a couple of cubs munching on acorns up in a tree while traveling through Sequoia NP. Got out of the car and snapped some pics but there was no sign of mom and I didn’t want to take the chance of getting crossways with her so I didn’t approach the little guys. Your place sounds wonderful, even to a guy who much prefers to sweat than shiver. >=))>
Funnily enough, I’ve never come across a bear in the woods or kayak, just in the car which is kind of a bummer, but I suppose they always hear, see or smell me coming and take off. And yeah, we really like where we live so we can’t move. Our neighborhood dart match was postponed, so I have a revision up there.
! Once I got past getting my tongue untangled from the title I thoroughly enjoy this image and glad you were able to get the water as the BG which works really well. This has a delightful spring feel. As for the fly, I don’t think it adds anything the way it’s oriented. If it was in a position where you could really tell what it is it might work but here it just looks like a dark blob in a sea of light joy. All that to say, it could go and not be missed but it’s still no more than a <1¢ nit. Top notch shot. >=))>
