mffox Loc: Avon, CT

This photo of an ANEMONE was taken at Asticue Gardens in Acadia National Park, has been one of my favorites. Unfortunately the lighting and other conditions were difficult and I was fairly new to my camera, so a good deal of PP was needed. Also unfortunately, it hasn't fared well in 2 competitions. Should I just chalk it up to a learning experience and move on, or can any of you see any merit here? Thanks for your help.

(Download)

PoppieJ Loc: North Georgia

my 2 cents worth, your focus is on the yellow colored whatever it is, don't remember my biology very well but I assume it is what is left after the flower bloom falls off. If you really love the picture I might be tempted to wait for spring and try again

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I see plenty of merit, the colors and composition are are pleasant to view.
Unfortunately the star of the show is a bit soft and the higher placed flower competes for attention.
I see any of my photos as a starting point to move on and try for improvement.
Carry on.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

--Bob

ken_stern Loc: Yorba Linda, Ca

What has already been said --

You focus my attention on a subject that is out of focus

R.G. Loc: Scotland

Apart from the poor lighting it's noisy and the main focus of attention (the large blossom) is soft. Judges look for photos that are good examples of something but this one isn't a good example of anything. You'll get better by trying and learning.

Tjohn Loc: Inverness, FL formerly Arivaca, AZ

1) Too crowded. 2) The central blossom is too close to the lens. You need to refocus and shoot the blossom then stack images.

Stephan G

The best in the photo would be the open flower to the top with the buds below, omitting the intended (?) blossom.

There is no hope for the facing bloom. Lighting and focus are the main drawbacks. A flash would have helped some.

Hip Coyote

So, you get down on your knees to shoot macro, take what you think is a good photo only to find out there are flaws in the pic? Ha! I do it all the time. Why didnt I see that when I was down on the ground or bent over? Welcome to the club. Thank you for posting in this section where we are trying to collectively get better at photography!

I downloaded the photo. I think you found a great subject with great colors, but there are some issues that cannot be overcome on this one.

I noted that the focus is on the yellow bud. The main large flower is out of focus. No amount of software manipulation is going to rescue that. Parts of the main flower look almost ragged from pixelization of the edges. Macro has to be razor sharp, IMO. I note that the image size is small, so maybe you downsized it for upload? And there are no exposure settings to look at to see if there are any issues there.

Before entering photo contests, really take a hard look at the shot, and if it is intended to be in focus, it has to really be in focus. If not, then that is your artistic intent, then ok. But judges will see the fuzzyness of a shot right away.

True story, my very first meeting I attended of my photo club, I submitted a shot of a bridge. I thought it was great! The best photo I ever took and I was going to show my new club who the new photog was in town. It was shot in Yosemite. I did it in HDR no less. My neighbors all said it was great! It was the first shot up to be evaluated. The judge looked at it and said, "well, I dont often rate a photo this low, but it is out of focus and the HDR is way over cooked...it is a 5." I have not seen a 5 in the four years since then! I keep that photo to remind me, "focus and be careful of over cooking on hdr.!" Ouch. At least they did not announce my name as the one who created that mess. He was right, of course.

I suggest you curate this photo...meaning, in a nice way, it is not a keeper. Keep on shooting.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

What has already been said--no need to repeat.

zug55 Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas

As others have pointed out, the key issue is that the center of the main flower is out of focus. Generally, you seem to have a shallow depth of field in this image. Not knowing your equipment and settings I can only guess. Two ways to possibly address this is to use a longer macro lens (90/100mm rather than 50mm) and/or using a smaller aperture to increase depth of field. Perhaps you were too close to the flower. Sometimes I switch to manual focus in situations like this to get the focus exactly where I want it.

The other major issue I see is noise (ISO too high?) and perhaps overprocessing. This leads to a halo effect that is clearly visible at the edge of the two flowers. Perhaps you underexposed the image and then you brightened it up in post, which produced the halo. Of course using a smaller aperture, as suggested above, will aggravate this issue.

A better camera/sensor with a higher dynamic range and better low-light performance would help. Also seeking better light would go a long way. Again, without knowing equipment and settings it is difficult to be more specific.

Then there is the composition--which is a much more subjective category. I think having the two flowers that are at a certain distance does not work well, particularly since neither is in focus. I find that the rule of odds gives you better results--either have one or three flowers. At any rate, they need to have a better spatial relationship. In your image, the second flower dangles out there without really relating to the main flower. But again, this is a much more subjective point.

Yet, there is a lot of potential in this image. I like the naturally dark background that creates a good contrast with the the flower. These are hard shots to get exactly right. i sometimes take ten shots of one flower, and none turns out just right. So go out and take lots of shots. Experiment with settings. Study the results on your computer screen. Next time you will nail this shot!

Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.

With the exception of the "out of focus" main flower which detracts greatly from the whole composition, I really like your photo! The lighting and the green background are very well done and enhance this very fine photo. Were that center flower in focus I think this would be near perfect.

cbtsam Loc: Monkton, MD

I'd like to say lots of potential. As noted by others, focus is a killer here. On the plus side, I rather like the composition, except that it needs more breathing space on the top and the left and right.

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

This is the first time I’ve ever critiqued any photo not my own. So, anyone who cares to, critique my critique.
I think my first move would be to get rid of all the stray buds - they don’t add anything appealing to the scene. Maybe even a distraction. At least, then you have just the two, much more interesting players to work on, as well as more of that background to work with.

flyboy61 Loc: The Great American Desert

The best ideas i heard about Macro photos is "Less is more", and Don't just take one picture...vary angles, etc. to perhaps find a better portrayal than our original vision!