Stem of Leaves

[gahspidy]

I've been sitting on this image for more than a year and keep coming back to it.
how do you feel about this?
thanks

[Chunk]

It has a nice rhythm and the plant stands out well against the bg. I can't figure the lighting (is some bounced in from the lower left) and I think the unexpected light is a strength.
Is the light color outlining the upper leaves part of the plant or lighting, or a figment of downsizing/sharpening for display here?

[Overbeyond]

Hello Gary
I'm not the best qualified to critique on this area of photography but I will offer my opinion.
The leaf/plant to me is beautiful in texture, lighting and exposure. But I am not 100% sure about the background. I coming round to thinking that a plain solid black will show the leaf in all its clarity. The bottom leaf in particular needs to breathe and show off its light and I feel it will do itself more justice without the blurred (foliage?) behind it. The seratted edges of the top right leaf benefits beautifully from the lighting.
Tom

[payn817]

Your compostion and tones are elegant. The textures are rich and beautiful, almost like you could feel them. Although the BG isn't distracting to me, I do wonder how it would look completely black. Nice work.

[Liz]

Gary,

I love the starkness of the leaves, the contrast, tone, everything about the image.....except the effect of the background. For me personally, it is a distraction and takes away from the beauty of the image. Is it possible for you to post the image without the bg effect?

Liz

I've been sitting on this image for more than a year and keep coming back to it.
how do you feel about this?
thanks

[Ronnoco]

The texture and lighting is beautiful in sections, but there are problems too. The leaf at the top right hand corner should stand out rather than blend in to the background. Some of the leaves also seem to suffer from Photoshop oversharpening. If you take out the leaves below the Y shape and then crop, you have a much better balanced photo. The leaves at the bottom suffer from lighting....blending in with the background and lack of detail as well as background problems as well.

Ronnoco

[Seb]

I've been sitting on this image for more than a year and keep coming back to it.
how do you feel about this?
thanks

Gary, I read mixed reviews here but I feel that this is pretty much dead on for me. The exposure and the level of brightness looks good on my calibrated monitor. You might have used slightly more dof as the leafs which aren't directly in front of the stem doesn't seems quite as sharp as the others but that's about it. I do not perceive the background as a distraction. It actually add an atmosphere and some depth to the picture. Going for solid black background would necessarily looks good but somehow, it seems to me that this would be "too easy".

regards

Seb

[Lava Lamp]

I've been sitting on this image for more than a year and keep coming back to it.
how do you feel about this?
thanks

Well, I have a library and I've read every book in that library ;) and it seems to me that in combination with my vast and worldy experience and classical education that this photo is worthy of my consideration. I will get back to you on just what exactly I think at a later date.

For now, I will simply say: "It rocks -- 'cept for the bottom."

[jar_e]

The BG is concerning as was pointed out...though as much as I think the foreground is stellar, the BG needs to be more consistent IMO. The texture and feeling of this shot is superb and I definitely think that the lighting of the particular leaves is crucial to making this shot work.

Good shot, though sketchy background.

[Yoyo Szeto]

Hi Gary,
I like contrast between the dark background and the much brighter plant. I especially like the light on the main stalk. The leaf arrangement is a bit random for me especially the lower two. There are some white dots on the leafs which I dont know what they are. Thanks for sharing.

[gahspidy]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Chunk . . .the plant/stem was growing up in the yard and this was shot from about 15 ft. away with a telephoto lens mounted on tripod at ground level practically. The lighting is backlit and a bit from above. This effect was had by using the channels mixer to convert to b&w and then dropping the constant level way down and increasing the green channel way up to bring back the leaves. The edges of the leaves were highlighted and this treatment sort of enhanced that as well. I did not mind it as I felt it emphasized the jaggedness of the outlines. Thanks as always, Chunk.

Tom. . .I can understand your points about the bg, although I did not feel it was an issue but rather lent the image a bit of depth. As always, this forum brings things to my attention that I may not have thought about otherwise, and given the other comments concerning the bg too, I will have to re evaluate my thoughts on it. Thanks for your time, Tom.

Payn. . .I guess I feel as you about the bg, that it is ok with me but might want to see what it may look like with complete black. I did not really want to go that way, with a totally dark bg, and so I'm pleased to know you are ok with it as it is. Also glad you feel the overall composition is fine. thanks again.

Liz . . .I think I will give a go at reducing or eliminating the effect of the bg and will surely post it when I can. It did not initially concern me, but given all the remarks on it I must reconsider and see where I comfortably stand with it. Thanks Liz.

ronnoco. . .I appreciate your time to comment. You are reffering to the leaf in the upper right corner as it fades into darkness at it's tip area. I had considered that while looking over this shot as I pondered over it as I would come back to it again and again. I felt I rather liked the effect of it fading, I guess it just a personal thing, but your point is well noted. There is very little sharpening here, but I can see where it appears like an overshaprening effect going on. As I mentioned to Chunk in my comment above, it is a combination of the back lit leaves having their edges highlighted and my conversion technique bringing it out more along the way. As you noted, some of the leaves suffering from lack of detail is the fault of my choice of lens and aperture combination at the time. It was selected really for convenience in the particular situation. I would have benefited from getting in closer with less magnification and stopping down some more. As for your crop suggestion, I think it would work but I prefer not to chop an image so drastically and would just rather do a reshoot if possible. Your suggestions are well noted, and thanks again.

Seb. . .just as I was possibly considering putting this image in the fire, you throw it back on the table for me lol. Well, I must admit I'm happy to know you see it as I hoped it would be seen, and as I described to ronnoco, it was my poor choice of set up that left me with some areas that could have been sharper. I agree with your take on the bg. I think I'll tweak it a bit more considering everyones comments and then make a print and see how I feel about it from there. Thanks Seb.

LavaLamp . . . lol, I'm humbled that your great academic achievements and vast knowledge in all areas known to mankind would even consider looking over my picture.As for now, your "It Rocks, cept for the bg" is good enough for me.I think I get your drift. . .thanks for the time, LL

Jared . . .good to know your take on this. yeah, the lighting is the main attraction here, really, and while I was hoping it would be enough to hold the image up on it's own, i must reconsider the weaker points of the picture and see whether the scale can weigh in favor. Thanks again.

Yoyo . . .I always appreciate your thoughts. I would have liked the two lower leaves to not overlap as they do, but I did not consider it while taking the shot. The white specks are areas where there may be tiny holes in the leafs. i could clone some of the more noticeable ones out before I print this for further evaluation. thanks again.

[Ronnoco]

Well, I have a library and I've read every book in that library ;) and it seems to me that in combination with my vast and worldy experience and classical education that this photo is worthy of my consideration. I will get back to you on just what exactly I think at a later date.

For now, I will simply say: "It rocks -- 'cept for the bottom."

Gee, Lava Lamp, not very detailed as to what is wrong with the bottom, considering that vast library of yours and your classical education.

Ronnoco

[Ronnoco]

ronnoco. . .I appreciate your time to comment. You are reffering to the leaf in the upper right corner as it fades into darkness at it's tip area. I had considered that while looking over this shot as I pondered over it as I would come back to it again and again. I felt I rather liked the effect of it fading, I guess it just a personal thing, but your point is well noted. There is very little sharpening here, but I can see where it appears like an overshaprening effect going on. As I mentioned to Chunk in my comment above, it is a combination of the back lit leaves having their edges highlighted and my conversion technique bringing it out more along the way. As you noted, some of the leaves suffering from lack of detail is the fault of my choice of lens and aperture combination at the time. It was selected really for convenience in the particular situation. I would have benefited from getting in closer with less magnification and stopping down some more. As for your crop suggestion, I think it would work but I prefer not to chop an image so drastically and would just rather do a reshoot if possible. Your suggestions are well noted, and thanks again.
.

Good eye, and I can understand your point of view. Did you consider a minimum amount of fill flash to darken the background from top to bottom and add a little detail to some of the leaves? Sometimes experimentation is worthwhile, if you have the time, in the particular situation.

Ronnoco

[gahspidy]

Good eye, and I can understand your point of view. Did you consider a minimum amount of fill flash to darken the background from top to bottom and add a little detail to some of the leaves? Sometimes experimentation is worthwhile, if you have the time, in the particular situation.

Ronnoco

At the time i shot this, i was attracted to the leaves as they were glowing from the backlighting and had not even foresaw that i would edit it as I eventually did. i should have , however, as I shot a few different leaf images with back lighting and had edited them exactly as I did here. Yeah, I can imagine a minus exposure compensation with a bit of plus Flash exposure to light up the subject while underexposing all else in the bg would give a nice effect and worth a try. good suggestion.