Still a week or two away from prime wildflower bloom here in the San Juan Mountains, I decided to kill a Saturday taking my wife's 8 year old grandson fishin' at Trout Lake.
On the way to the fishin' hole, we walked by an amazing patch of wildflowers in full bloom. I got the boy set up, came back to this spot and waited for the clouds to roll in.
He got skunked....I didn't.
Canon 5D2 w/17-40 lens @ 40mm
1/90 sec. @ f22
ISO 800 (no tripod )
Posted by Scott Fricke on July 12, 2009 at 6:24 PM
Finally pulled yourself away from the desert huh? Great composition, love all the green leaves as a backdrop to the Columbines. All the highlights in the leaves give it great depth. Might have to head down there myself in a week or so.
Good job John. I always like columbines! I really enjoy the contrast here.
Posted by Kurt Bowman on July 13, 2009 at 12:14 AM
John, I really like the vertical comp on this. The texture in the leaves add a lot to the image and the dark BG make the Columbines pop off the page! BTW, what type plant is that in the BG? Those leaves are very cool.
Posted by Nat Coalson on July 13, 2009 at 12:51 AM
John, this is really beautiful. It's well seen, the light is gorgeous, and I really get what you're going for here.
Also, the exposure is perfect, the sharpness looks great, and it's a technically well-executed image. It's the kind of image I've seen in beautiful coffee-table books and very popular calendars.
Looking at it for a longer period of time, I become more aware of the lines within the frame. And to me, they cause unneccesary tension, in the wrong directions. This wrecks the composition.
The intention is clear: a pristine, beautiful columbine, nicely lit, in its natural setting. There is a very nice mood here, but to me, the "feeling" becomes unnerving, because of the composition.
First, this comp is split in the middle: 1) you have a nice, colorful flower bunch in the bottom half, and 2) some nice, green leaves in the top. There is no real interaction between them, at least graphically.
That creates a horizon. This is like two photos crammed into one. (Remember the rule about not placing the horizon in the center? This is a good example of why not...)
The balance is off.
The columbines compete with the bright area to their top left, and more conflict is with the bright spot at the left edge of the frame. The little, gimpy flower that hasn't yet opened detracts also.
To me, as the viewer of the photo, my eye is drawn in all kinds of directions; everything takes me away from the flowers and out of the frame. In fact, I have to really make an effort to keep looking at the flowers, because my eye goes to other places.
So what is this a picture of?
In my opinion, this comp could be made stronger with one simple move: crop tighter. In the camera, in the computer, whatever. Fill the frame with the subject. If there are other elements within the frame, they all need to redirect attention back to the subject.
On that note, see the little clump of clover to the bottom left? Those are excellent, and should be included, and sharp. "Counterpoint" to the main subject is fantastic, as long as there is one main point with dominance.
But everything left in the final image needs to support the main subject. To me, this image creates too many points of distraction to work as is. But could be made super-fantastic with a couple of adjustments.
Nat,
I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your time and effort in helping me make this image the best it can be.
I'll look at it closer tonight and will probably implement your suggestions then.
I believe I'll crop down to just above the almost converging vegetation (skunk cabbage?) tips just above the flowers.
The textures of the corn lilies leading down to the columbine is what grabs me when I look at this. At first glance, the color seems very flat, but I wonder if you intended that since increasing the saturation might be to the detriment of the emphasis on the textures.
I'm not hugely into flower images, but this one I really like. It has an incredibly unique composition and the elements in the image make the Columbines really stand out. Excellent shot.
Posted by Jeff Hackett on July 13, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Discussion
15 repliesOn the way to the fishin' hole, we walked by an amazing patch of wildflowers in full bloom. I got the boy set up, came back to this spot and waited for the clouds to roll in.
He got skunked....I didn't.
Canon 5D2 w/17-40 lens @ 40mm
1/90 sec. @ f22
ISO 800 (no tripod
Jim
Also, the exposure is perfect, the sharpness looks great, and it's a technically well-executed image. It's the kind of image I've seen in beautiful coffee-table books and very popular calendars.
Looking at it for a longer period of time, I become more aware of the lines within the frame. And to me, they cause unneccesary tension, in the wrong directions. This wrecks the composition.
The intention is clear: a pristine, beautiful columbine, nicely lit, in its natural setting. There is a very nice mood here, but to me, the "feeling" becomes unnerving, because of the composition.
First, this comp is split in the middle: 1) you have a nice, colorful flower bunch in the bottom half, and 2) some nice, green leaves in the top. There is no real interaction between them, at least graphically.
That creates a horizon. This is like two photos crammed into one. (Remember the rule about not placing the horizon in the center? This is a good example of why not...)
The balance is off.
The columbines compete with the bright area to their top left, and more conflict is with the bright spot at the left edge of the frame. The little, gimpy flower that hasn't yet opened detracts also.
To me, as the viewer of the photo, my eye is drawn in all kinds of directions; everything takes me away from the flowers and out of the frame. In fact, I have to really make an effort to keep looking at the flowers, because my eye goes to other places.
So what is this a picture of?
In my opinion, this comp could be made stronger with one simple move: crop tighter. In the camera, in the computer, whatever. Fill the frame with the subject. If there are other elements within the frame, they all need to redirect attention back to the subject.
On that note, see the little clump of clover to the bottom left? Those are excellent, and should be included, and sharp. "Counterpoint" to the main subject is fantastic, as long as there is one main point with dominance.
But everything left in the final image needs to support the main subject. To me, this image creates too many points of distraction to work as is. But could be made super-fantastic with a couple of adjustments.
Nat,
I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your time and effort in helping me make this image the best it can be.
I'll look at it closer tonight and will probably implement your suggestions then.
I believe I'll crop down to just above the almost converging vegetation (skunk cabbage?) tips just above the flowers.
Thanks again all!!
I'm not hugely into flower images, but this one I really like. It has an incredibly unique composition and the elements in the image make the Columbines really stand out. Excellent shot.