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Bluebells Victorious
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Bluebells Victorious

by Julia Flanagan

Gallery: Man & NaturePosted July 29, 2010277 views4 comments
Hi Folks,
I think this is my first post to Man & Nature. And it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything - just too much happening! Here's something from my neighborhood. Perhaps our most outstanding color fest of the year is the Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) that carpet the Broad Run flood plain in April.

Your comments and critiques are most welcome. I'm contemplating including this shot in a local show this fall. So your input is valued!

Nikon D2X, Signa 24-70mm f2.8 @ 31mm, f6.3, 1/6s, global adjustments in Adobe LR2, global levels & curves in CS2, global web sharpening. 75% of ff shown.

Comments

4 comments
Comment posted by Julia Flanagan on July 30, 2010 at 1:30 PM
Michael, thanks for the honest critique. I find it very helpful. I agree that the image does not have punch in color or any special lighting. Also the degree of in focus vs. blur is not what I favor. I had difficulty with wanting more in focus and wanting more blur in the bg. But I don't tend to do post processing blurring. The content is reflective of the somewhat chaotic nature of the floodplain forest and especially areas that are reclaiming old man-made disturbances. However, this type of image, I know, is not appealing to many people, even though it does depict a common and much loved local widlflower event. Sounds like I need to work on capturing a more idealized version of it.

Thanks again.
Julie
Registered on November 13, 2003, 59 Posts, 986 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Salge on July 30, 2010 at 5:29 PM
Would love to come across a scene like this. You chose a good anchor for the flowerscape...but have to agree...it's lacking a punch. Lack of contrast maybe, tree at right creeping out of the frame? Something...it's a nice shot...just not quite doing it for me... :wavey:
Registered on February 23, 2006, 269 Posts, 2210 Comments
Comment posted by Genny K. on July 30, 2010 at 7:51 PM
I love the flowers crawling over the post! See if you can do something more with this; as the others have said,it doesn't catch your eye quite enough, but still I think it has lots of potential. How about if you crop it differently? Square, so it includes just the post and flowers to the right and back? Also, I would like to see more contrast in the flowers. Maybe try shadow/highlights; that might really put some color and contrast into the lighter parts, and that's what I would like to see.
To me, the bushes and trees on the right side are distracting, so that's why I think a crop might be better, but it might also help focus on the post and wires, which I think are really interesting.
As noted, this is just my opinion....... :wink:
Registered on June 5, 2006, 132 Posts, 2001 Comments
Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 1, 2010 at 1:07 AM
A very pleasant small scene Julie. It needs some highlight and midtone adjustment to put some saturation and pop IMO.
Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments