The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
We have two Bird of Paradise plants in our garden. They have both been damaged by freezes the last three years but have made valiant efforts to recover. The leaves are the first to regenerate but it seems they need a couple of years of uninterrupted growth to produce flowers. I still watch the leaves carefully and often there are interesting backlight patterns. All comments welcome. >=))>
Technical Details
Sony A7RIII
Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM-II @ 197mm
ISO 1600, 1/60 @ f22
Breezy day but AF was accurate and very few rejects.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Bill, the play of light and the textures in this leaf are very attractive, especially the little “hook” of light top left. I do think that some burning-in of the oof, bright area in the upper right corner would reduce the attention that area wants. The sense of flow works very well.
Hi Bill, great use of lighting. I especially love the petal like feature in the top left section. That was a nice surprise to see after studying the image. The green hues are calming and give off Spring vibes. The lighting here is overall quite pleasing. Mark offered a good idea to darken the brightest portion of that upper right corner.
The image has a strong diagonal line that leads my eye up to that feature. The thinner horizontal lines provide additional interest and help balance the composition. That darker green section gives some negative space and serves as a nice counterbalance to the lighter sections on the right. You may have tried a 4x5 vertical composition but if not, give it a go and see if the alternative crop helps the balance. Really cool to have these plants in your backyard to photograph. Thanks for posting.
Not much to add from @Mark_Seaver and @Alfredo_Mora’s comments, except to say this is such a lovely shot, Bill. I love the flowing lines and how the main vein acts as a perfect leading line. How lucky you are to have this right in your own backyard.
I love the lighting and the way the backlight gives detail down tot he cellular level. The contrast between dark and bright is really interesting and I find the invasion of the dark by the light near the top adds a lot to the image, though it does make me wish that it weren’t cut off on the left letting the light escape that way.
I had to come back for a second look before I could decide what I thought about this one. On balance I like it. My problem with it is that there’s really nowhere for the eye to come to rest, which makes looking at it work.
