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Fern spores
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Fern spores

by Willem Louw

Gallery: FloraPosted March 8, 201667 views6 comments
On a recent hike I came upon these beautiful ferns, proudly showing of its spores. I believe this is the Forest tree-fern or Cyathea Capensis. My first first picture in this gallery. Comments and critique will be appreciated.
 

Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by Bill Fach on March 8, 2016 at 2:16 PM
Willem: Welcome to the finest Flora gallery on the planet and thanks for what I hope will be the first of many posts. Love the repeating patterns. I might crop significantly from the right side to almost a 5:4 ratio to get rid of most of the bright areas in the URC. Also would be interested in knowing your aperture setting. A little more DOF bringing in more of the spores into sharper focus would suit me a bit better. Great to have you aboard and looking forward to more.>=))>
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on March 8, 2016 at 6:59 PM
Well seen and taken, Willem. I like the pattern of the fronds and spores, and the vibrant color. I think Bill makes some good suggestions, but I also find the softness, with the focus on selective spores, appealing as well.  
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on March 9, 2016 at 1:59 PM
The slanted stem is nice.  I agree with Bill about the bright spots.
Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on March 9, 2016 at 9:25 PM
Nice, Willem. I agree with Bill's crop suggestion. I also recommend, whenever possible, posting the techs (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, etc.). It is very helpful in making meaningful critiques.

I assume this was taken in South Africa?
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by Giuseppe Guadagno on March 16, 2016 at 9:24 AM
An excellent design and composition Willem. I agree with Bill about the crop on the right.
Registered on February 3, 2007, 827 Posts, 5052 Comments
Comment posted by Willem Louw on March 16, 2016 at 12:45 PM
Thank you for all the comments and the welcome.
Herewith the cropped image, as suggested by Bill. Thanks for the good suggestion Bill, I think it is an improvement. I also think more DOF might have worked better.

The techs:
Fujifilm X-T1 with XF18-135mm lens at 110mm
F 5.6, Shutter time 1/40, ISO800,

Phil, yes this was taken in a steep mountain "kloof" (gully) in the Western Cape, SA.
Registered on August 15, 2015, 11 Posts, 32 Comments