katatl

Arabia Mountain, Georgia is a granite outcrop. Thousands of years of rain have worn depressions in the rock where wildflowers have taken root. The red is a succulent called dimorpha. Comments on this photo would be appreciated.

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joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Beautiful capture. I like it a little better with 2/3 of the forest on top cropped out. Thanks for sharing it in this section; I’m interested in what the pros suggest.

katatl

Thanks. My immediate self criticism is that I should have focused on the yellow flowers. Agree with you that more of the forest should have been cropped out but then the yellow flowers get even softer.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

The combination of colours and the sort of winding pattern of the white flowers through the image are both really nice. I agree that the dark of the trees adds little except as a backdrop. One of the virtual crops I tried was just above the light tan of the grasses in front of the trees. That allowed for the bottom of the dark trees to provide a backdrop, but took out the tops of the trees. You stated that you should have focused on the yellow flowers. To you recall where your focus point was? It all looks a bit soft to me. I struggle with focus frequently, so it's one of the things I notice.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Since you asked....
I have a very artistic friend back home, (she is a painter, very good as well, I should add.) Recently her boyfriend and her started traveling by small plane around the small islands that make up the tropical country. I was AMAZED at the way she was able to take photos of "mundane things," such as pine trees, branches, sea shore, rocks, etc.. and make them look VERY interesting.. (And told her as much..)
IMHO, this is what your image lacks.. If you agree, the next question would be HOW to make it more interesting?
And THAT my friend, is a discussion all on it's own!!

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

It's also out of focus.
If you are like me and can only afford a "kit" lens for your camera; (mine can even make an image taken by a camera on a TRIPOD look out of focus.) Look for a sharpening/focusing software when it's on sale. (Got one for $49 and another one for $75 that also did other things.) Now I just "capture" the image (as best I can,) then put them thru the software to "focus and sharpen.." Results are sometimes 30 X 40 (and even a 36 X 48) canvas print that looks "spot on" in terms of focus. (Especially with a cheap quality lens..)
BTW: I have Topaz software..
If any other UHH members can add to this, (or make suggestions along this line,) I would also be interested.

wildconc2001 Loc: Chicagoland

People ask me often, "what kind of camera should I buy, I can't afford a professional body like you use." My answer is the body is not the important thing, buy the best lens you can afford because that determines the image quality. This image is a good example of that.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

Understood. But in reality it seems that there are no "OK" digital camera body out there under, (say) $400-$500. Keeping in mind MOST people want SOME controls (automatic or not,) on the body...

wildconc2001 Loc: Chicagoland

That's basically true and I under4stand your feelings but to get a camera for serious folks that want more than a small file for computer albums certain expenses exist. Many of us started out with cameras with such minimal controls and depended on labs to develop our film properly that we had little control over our pictures. If your desire is to make enlargements, a lens is the necessity. Not to be insensitive about costs, but the realization has to be there that advertising makes people think they can do more with less than is possible. Personally, I would forego some of the body frills to have a lens that once the image was captured I could make something nice out of it. A thorough knowledge of camera lens settings allows one to work with less frills. I know I come across a bit harshly and I know that in todays world we all want things basically made easier but there is no substitute for quality. I know nothing about that sharpening software mentioned but I do know that even with the computer and our wonderful software, an unsharp image is unsharp. Sorry, don't mean to in anyway offend,
Larry

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

No no, no offense taken. Thank you for your honest reply. And while I "ALMOST" agree with your sentence "..unsharp is unsharp.." I ask that you might try reading some of the scientific(?) explanation on how these type softwares work these days. I am NOT of a "science based brain" so I cannot offer any type of discussion or technical opinions, all I know is that it WORKS...

wildconc2001 Loc: Chicagoland

I will take your word on that one. You have a good one.

buddah17 Loc: The Bahamas

You too... Would you mind if I enquired about your photographic background, or profession? Looking at some of your postings, I find them quite impressive..

wildconc2001 Loc: Chicagoland

Not a problem Buddah, thanks for the kind words. If you go into my website wildernessconceptsphoto.com besides images, there's a wealth of lies about me---I know they are lies since I wrote them!! No, it's basically legit. I started with, believe it or not, a 4x5 camera and black and white film. I wanted to be Ansel Adams, even took his workshop. I progressed from there. After leaving medicine I started the photo business and basically was freelance until a few years back. Haven't done much lately but still hope to a little.
I have just returned to reading in this site and thought I'd comment a bit if I could be of help. I left some time back because too many people wanted to argue about everything--seems civil now.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

I think you have good instincts. You were looking at line and the chris-cross pattern across the image as a point of interest, in addition to color. The balance of the image is good. Having said those things, it is terrible out of focus; perhaps hand-shake as opposed to a less-than lens or camera? The end result also appears to be very flat in tone. Keep trying and figure out how to get a sharp image as that is the very first requirement if the image is intended to be sharp.

Pysanka Artist Loc: Rochester, NY

I do like the bright pop of yellow and the splash of red in the image. Overall the image doesn't "grab" me and there doesn't seem to be anything in focus. I have attached my personal preference for cropping for a standard size image. My 2 cents . . . . . .