The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I shot this ten days ago, right after what is probably the last rain of the season. It was a month later than what used to be normal, and the dry season will last through October or into November. It’s not always I can get rain or dew on these – they bloom right on the edge of the dry season. Shot the same day as the previous Dogwood I posted. A slight breeze was a challenge for the focus stack.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome! I’d like to remove the edge of the petal in the UR corner but cloning it out left a blank-feeling area. I may try to lighten the patch of BG later but the OOF edge makes it tricky.
Technical Details
Focus stack, very little tonal work, a little cropping.
Critique Template
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The limited view combined with the perspective makes this intriguing and a nice change of pace. The twin little ends with the color draw the eye in the sea of neutrals and blur. The water droplets feel heavy in this, as if their combined weight is pulling the petals into those shapes. The URC corner doesn’t bother me and I see you point about having too much nothing up there. Stack looks good and the focus fall off natural. I especially like the underside of the flower being part of the composition and the focus zone.
I like the softness of the image even with so much of the flower in crisp focus from the stacking, Diane. The depth of field you chose works very well for this. You mention a little cropping and I’m wondering if you have a touch more canvas on the left as the sharp edge of the petal against the left edge of the frame tends to fight the overall fade-into-the-distance feel of the rest of the image.
Thanks, @Kris_Smith and @Dennis_Plank! The UL bothered me, too, Dennis but this was the problem. I just tried adding canvas with content-aware and again with generative fill. Both gave results I could clone to end the petal better. I’ll get back to it later. Thanks for the nudge!
The dark blob is an ever-present menace to flower photography. The crop you chose is ideal. I might be tempted to boost up the contrast a tad to show off those water droplets better. Might be worth trying, but not essential for improving an ideal comp. Well done…Jim
