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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Barbara: A nice close in portrait of this Lily flower. From a technical standpoint the sharpness is okay, however not as crisp in detail as I would expect it to be with 12 stacked images. I would imagine you had your camera body tripod mounted to expose the 12 images however it is not mentioned in your info. The pinkish tinges on the white flower are attractive and add interest to the picture. |
Feb 12th |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hi Priscilla: The stroke in Elements 2020 works well. In the top tool bar click image, then click resize and then canvas size. The box that says inches change that to percent.
For a thin white border try 100.3 value, for a thin color border start with 100.5. I know you will need to adjust these number as each picture is different. |
Feb 9th |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Priscilla: A nice soft mood picture with two white roses.
The greenery to the left gives balance to the two roses.
I would clone out the small twig that protrudes from the top of the right hand rose, then darken down the stem on the right.
In my humble opinion the fairly thick white border over powers the two softly lit roses. As time goes on I am using a darker green very thin border for some botanical images, dark green fits a lot of botanical subjects. You want to keep your borders more so on the thin side so it does not rob impact from your flower. Sometimes I match the border color to the flowers which also works very well. |
Feb 7th |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Barbara: Over a period of time you have shared many pictures I believe you photographed at home, "Winter Berries" being one. The out of focus dark leaves on the left add a nice point of interest to the arching branch of red berries.
In this case I think the use of a 12" soft gold reflector placed just below the camera would have added just a touch more light to the berries. You have to be very careful not to place the reflector too close so you do not over light your subject. You just move the reflector back and forth until the lighting looks good to you. Using the reflector takes a little practice to get it just right. I use Photoflex reflectors in soft gold which is in a herringbone pattern part gold and part silver.
Nice work.!!
|
Feb 7th |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Charlie: This image just points out a photographer can find art in many locations.
This is a fine monochrome image that carries a lot of mood and impact. The water drops spread around add good points of interest.
This picture is just another example of a dead centered composition working very well, the rule of thirds would not work here in my humble opinion.
The thin gray border adds the finishing touch. |
Feb 7th |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Alane: Kudos on photographing something a bit different and out of the ordinary. I like the soft feeling of the image, the predominate colors of shades of yellow with red hi-lites sprinkled around the picture adds a lot of interest. One nit-pic; would have preferred to not cut off the red flower petals along the right side of the frame, would have tried to include them.
I do not like photographing around crowds of people, it really adds to the degree of difficulty in be able to create a good picture.
|
Feb 7th |
| 63 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Neal: This still-life is quite a departure from your usual choice of insect subjects, nice to see. Charlie has mentioned some technical "stuff" so I will make other comments.
Regarding your compositional arrangement; you have put a lot of thought into how you wanted to arrange the various colors of fruit and it works well. One yellow apple in the front middle, then dark maroon cherries on each side gives a nice balance. Then the two red and yellow variegated apples at the far left and right serve to add more balance to your composition.
Your choice of lighting with the black background helps the image carry a lot of impact, then the orange border ties everything together. Good work !! |
Feb 7th |
6 comments - 1 reply for Group 63
|
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Judy: Good detail and texture on the white Lily leaves, it is so easy to loose detail in white flower petals. In my humble opinion I think Marge's cropping in of the petals works well, it puts more emphasis on the stamens.
The thin white border puts the finished touch on the picture. |
Feb 19th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hi Judy: Thanks for your medical history of the Foxglove plant, was not aware the Foxglove plant was poisonous to children or pets, however did know digitalis was once used on heart patiences in past times. |
Feb 19th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hi Dan: Thanks for sharing the seascape. To me this is a fine monochrome scenery image with the lighthouse as your center of interest. The picture has a nice mood, good cross lighting and detail on the rocks and also interesting clouds.
Some judges may nit-pic that the lighthouse is a little too close to the right frame. As a judge I would not mention this as I would have no idea regarding the situation you were faced with. Perhaps you had a major distraction just to the right of the lighthouse. Your horizon line is slightly below the middle of the frame, however the viewers attention is focused on the lighthouse and not on the horizon line. The average viewer pays no attention to the positioning of a horizon line. |
Feb 15th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Dan: You mention contests and I have entered many PSA International Exhibitions, however have retired from that years ago. The judging of photography is so very subjective on the judges likes and dislikes and it should not be that way. Some judges will not give a good score to the types of subjects they have no interest in, this is very poor judging and not open minded at all but it happens. Would like to see your seascape. Cheers. |
Feb 10th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hi Charlie: You are correct in that many photographers do not like to use a tripod as it slows them down.
We have both observed artists in the field painting a scene they found special, They are usually seated in front of their canvas and they do not seem to be in any hurry at all. I try to follow their example that artistry cannot be hurried.
Cheers. |
Feb 9th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi All: Regarding composition; There are photographers and judges out there that state we should never have an even number of subjects in a picture but an odd number; a subject should never be centered; then the rule of thirds should always be maintained. To me this kind of thinking is just nonsense. Sometimes a centered composition works great, then at times I may have an even number of subjects in the picture, however I make certain they balance each other. Sometimes the well worn rule of thirds does not work in some type of scenes either. So much for all of these rules !! |
Feb 8th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Marge: A nice monochrome image of an Iris flower and composed well with dramatic lighting provided by the off camera flash.
While the Iris flower itself is well enough done there are some background distractions present that need to be addressed. This will sound like nit picking, however there is a black spot in the upper left, then a vertical line and dust specs in the lower left along with an object in the corner. On the right side about a third of the way up the frame I see what looks like slightly out of focus lint. While these are not deal breakers they are still distractions in your picture. These are very easy to clean up with a cloning tool then you would have a clean background to support the interesting flower. |
Feb 8th |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Charlie: The dramatic cross lighting against the very dark green out of focus background really creates high impact. The shadow detail on the leaves is so very important to this subject. Like the small green border, it adds that finishing touch.
Regarding cell phones: Replaced an old cell phone a few days ago with a new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. So far am very impressed with just how much cell phone cameras have improved over the years. Charlie's picture of the Agave really points this out. |
Feb 3rd |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Thanks guys for your helpful comments on my Foxglove picture, very much appreciated. |
Feb 3rd |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Raymond: Welcome to our flower study group.
Your Anemone flower almost seems to glow with the type of lighting that was used. Your choice of lighting provides very good detail and texture on the flower petals, then I like the soft shadows under the petals and no harsh black shadows. Your image is a good example of centered composition, the well worn rule of thirds would not work here.
Regarding backgrounds: your very light background is of the same color tone as the flower, only a much lighter shade, to me it works very well with the Anemone flower. I also use jet black backgrounds on some flowers, it depends on the mood and impact you want to create. I also tend to use a very dark green background and that usually fits many botanical subjects. With my Foxglove picture in this round I have used the natural out of focus background darkened somewhat. I would say what ever background you choose should enhance the flower subject. |
Feb 3rd |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Dan, For a substantial crop You have maintained good sharpness on the berries. Even though the background is well out of focus I still find the bright areas are somewhat distracting. Would darken down those brighter areas to be less obtrusive. The stem is further back so it out of focus, would tone down the stem so the out of focus is not so apparent. The red fruit makes a good subject. |
Feb 3rd |
| 75 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hi Vincent: Both Dan and Charlie make good suggestions, will try to add to their comments. Would like more information on your basic technique, are you using a tripod or hand holding the camera? If you are handholding it is nearly impossible to get lined up just perfect on the flower blossom. Case in point is the top petals seem to display better sharpness than each side and the bottom. In really close in macro photography as your flower is I have found I can achieve better sharpness results mounted on a tripod than hand holding. Using a tripod lets you slow down and check all 4 corner of the frame, and if one side is a little bit off you can make slight adjustments to get everything lined up perfectly. You cannot do this hand holding. |
Feb 3rd |
9 comments - 3 replies for Group 75
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15 comments - 4 replies Total
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