mr. u. n. owen

Sorry, desktop took over. I'll try again.

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

Interesting idea. I like the box to add interest with new texture. Focus and exposure are on the money. The lighting is a little hard and contrasty for this subject. You could raise the flashes higher and light from an angle behind the subject, using a reflector to fill; or you could feather the flashes to soften the light. I think either technique will give you a great result. Either way, try to get more light on the flower than on the vase (it is too reflective).

Nightski

I agree with Photoninjia. I too like the rustic box. I think another benefit to getting some of the light off of the vase is that it will look more pewter than silver and will fit in better with the box. I do like the lighting on the flowers. They have lovely colour. They look almost translucent. The tendrils reaching up into the darkness is particularly nice.

ediesaul

I like this photo because of the dissonance that it causes. Altho' the title says that the subject is the flower, for me, the subject is the vase, one of the first causes of dissonance because a vase is usually a prop and a flower is usually the main subject. The lighting on the vase, its design and texture, the darkness inside, all draw my eyes to it. The flower adds a very pretty contrasting color and a delicacy that also contrasts with the rustic stand, another dissonant element. That the flower is not in the middle of the darkness in the vase (I understand the refraction caused by water) is still yet another cause of dissonance. Because the photo is so well photographed, I really like this still-life. It is uncluttered. The colors are complementary. It is easy to peruse wherever one's eyes go. I don't know if dissonance was the photographer's goal, but it's the dissonance that I find interesting and makes this photo, for me, successful.