The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This was my favorite plant on the island. It’s the underside of the same plant as the previous one. It’s also not native to the island but grows everywhere. The Hawaiian Islands are actually an ecological disaster but that’s another story.
Specific Feedback
Is it too dark?
I seem to be on a kick of making dark images. They seem more meaningful somehow. To me.
Technical Details
GFX50R, 45-100mm, f/11, focus stacked
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
This is a beautiful image… The tone and lines and the color is really nice. Yes I would lighten it just a little. Maybe use the dodge tool in photoshop just on the leaf. not much !!! maybe vignette the image slightly. Really caught my eye …
Hi Igor, This image is quite wonderful. I don’t think it is too dark at all. The leaf is just glowing with an almost iridescence and the subtle reflections are lovely. I could see bringing down the lower corners rather than a vignette as they are brighter than the upper corners and it seems a bit unbalanced, but that is jut being fussy. Really well seen and processed.
A beautiful image. The leaf itself has all those gorgeous metallic colours and then the greens look like little gem stones. It reminds me of an ancient pendant once lost. Composition is spot on.
This one is quite emotive for me Igor. Although here in the States we tend to fight past the bitter end, there are some cultures that better accept and celebrate the transition from life to death. This image makes my mind wander in that direction. (Have you seen the movie “Departures?” This image brought that to my mind.)
The leaf dominates as a subject, which works very well here. The curves and lines of the leaf bring a sense of order to the surrounding chaos, and I love that contrast. The fact that part of the leaf border is intact and part is essential to the story. I’m with @glennie on the color. I tend to over suggest black and white, but not here. Those metallic colors are essential to the mood of evoking the beauty that can be found in transition.
I think the overall darkness is essential to emotiveness of the image for me. No, I would not change it.
This is one of the better images I’ve seen you post, IMHO, and I’ve seen a lot of them.
After living with this image about 3 weeks the following icon came to mind. I grew up with such images. Some of them really glow. I can’t find one now.
Love this! This speaks to many things one of which is the nature story of decay - cycle of life, etc. etc. This tells a wonderful nature story. Additionally, this is an image about light and dark, color (not sure how well this would do in b&w, maybe, but I love this in color.)
No, this isn’t too dark. I’d say processed perfectly. Of course I wasn’t standing there, but the colors on this leaf are just phenomenal. And whether it’s soft light on the leaf, or simply the colors are lighter than the surrounding area… doesn’t matter, the leaf stands out beautifully. Then one sees the imperfections, the decay, the transition from life to death.
I too appreciate your “dark phase”; light or dark, this is signature Igor.
Of course it seems I must always find something to change/improve and it’s usually some minor distraction. With this image, there are lots of little tiny things, leaf litter, debris, etc. - which I think are a plus here! None of it bothers or detracts me (only adds to the nature story.) However, there’s that one stick - I’ll call it a coffee stir stick. And my suggestion is not radical like CA cloning it away, but merely targetting the stick and reduce it’s lightness slightly. It’s really the only element that seems out of place. Again, very minor and just my .02.
You’re probably right about the stick. I remember thinking about that when I made the shot. I think the vignette was partly added in order to not have the stick exit the frame. The trick as I saw it was too have ‘stuff’ around the leaf that complemented it but did not detract from it. There is so much around the leaf and you could consider each separately and burn or dodge it. But I agree that the stick because it is a long straight line stands out and competes with the form of the leaf. The form, together with the ribbing has to dominate. That’s really what this image is about. The title is misleading. Good suggestion, Lon!
I made correction and posted above.
This is what the scene originally looked like before the tidying. I actually like this complex composition maybe even more but I didn’t like how the yellow leaf dominated the main leaf. But when I removed the yellow leaf the composition started to fall apart. So I kept removing things and changing the orientation.
I meant to comment earlier and got distracted and didn’t get back. The thumbnail grabbed me right away and the full image didn’t disappoint. I love the classic light and colors here, and what a wonderful shape this leaf has! I’m so glad you tidied up – I like it so much more without the yellow leaf, even if you subdued it. The part of the leaf it was covering is just so important to the whole image. I love the tiny correction to the stick. Fantastic image!!
Congrats on EP. Your Tone is just amazing. I think the lighting is fine like it is. I thought a little brighter was possibly an idea… BUT I have changed my mind. Its beautiful as it is. Well Done !!!
I love the colors involved. I like the original photo, maybe darken the yellow leaf a little. The cropped photo had my eyes following the leaf upwards and off the photo but did catch my eye enough I had to look closer. Very interesting leaf, I don’t think I have ever seen one before.
