Do The Dew

[Coastal Flyer]

I went on a photo shoot in the Balboa Park Botanical Gardens today. Here are a couple shots of the fabulous orchids. Hope you like them.

CF

[Jaedon]

Great colours. Nice DOF. Crisp, sharp, and beautiful. Can't find much to critique however because if I had shot these shots I would be very proud of them.

Good work CF.

[swmdrayfan]

What Jaedon said! The water droplets really stand out..great work.
John

[Coastal Flyer]

Thanks guys. I wasn't real excited about a photo shoot to do flowers but I got some keepers and that made the trip worthwhile.

Thanks again.

CF

[Christian Simpson]

i love water drops! excellent work!

[Greg McCary]

The dark background on #1 is very good but I feel it maybe cropped a bit to tight at the bottom. On #2 the stem at the lower right kind of bothers me but both issues are very minor ones. Well done again CF.
Greg

[trog100]

they are very nice but they look over processed.. over shapened.. over saturated.. over everything..

nice photgrograhs but messed up with too much post proccessing so to speak.. number two is way over the top..

they look "unatural".. but in these days some might see that as good point.. i dont..

trog

[mwfanelli]

I like number two a lot. The "overprocessing" complaints are in the eye of the beholder. I often get zapped for not super-saturating the colors and adding more sharpening! You can't please everyone. Standing on its own, its a wonderful shot.

[trog100]

"overprocessing" complaints are in the eye of the beholder"

true.. but so are the complements.. which is why when any working guidelines are removed it all comes down to a "matter of oppinion".. consensus critue.. not a good way to judge anything..

trog

[Coastal Flyer]

Greg, Fanelli, Trog:

Now, now. Gentlemen. It's a photograph. Not a big deal. I have pretty thick skin after 26 years of negotiating developer contracts. Funny thing about these pictures, and the dew drops, I didn't add much sharpening; only enough to bring out the sunlight coming through the roof of the Botanical Garden. I think the hard lighting added enough contrast without me adding any. But, you know what they say about beauty, and I wouldn't have shared them if they didn't look good to me.

Trog, just for grins and giggles, I appreciate your comments and the photos you post. If you have something that would help me understand your point that would be great.

Thanks for all the comments. It's a critique forum and I appreciate the time you put in.

CF

[julsoph]

I like both of these. They're definitely much more about the dew than the flowers...like the colors are the backdrop and such.
I like the yellow flowers a lot, but I think it would be stronger without the out of focus flower where the stem hits. The background in the red flower shot is busy for me...but I like the dewdrops better on that pic...they seem more defined in that one.

Emily

[jspot1980]

I had to post a comment on this page. Although I don't have much of a critique, actually not at all, I thought I would just say WOW. Those are some really good shots. Great job.
Jason

[Coastal Flyer]

Emily/Jason:

Thanks very much for your comments. I appreciate them very much.

CF

[trog100]

its just a natural look thing coastal.. the point u stop when out of camera tweaking.. when unnatural artifacts start to appear as in your red rose (all the little white specks and halos) u have gone too far.. the dew exaggerates the sharpening artifacts.. basially the images didnt need it.. i thiink there is more than simple sharpening at work there mind u..

add a little pop and zing by all means but know when to stop.. they are very nice images by the way i just think u have over done the pop and zing factor..

mind u consensus opinion will say i am wrong..it usually does.. he he

trog

[Coastal Flyer]

Trog,

Thanks for in the insight. I understand and it makes perfect sense. Just so you know though, I didn't do anything to this shot besides enough sharpening to bring out the sunlight reflection on each dew drop. The lighting was very bright, I didn't have to do much. I did not crop this photo, enhance colors, add curves, etc. I guess the point is that it appears over the top and unnatural and I will keep that in mind. Thanks again.

CF

[trog100]

some say canons idea of correct is over the top period.. looking at your pics in bright light i might be inclined to agree.. interesting that u havnt done anything to them except sharpen..

its something to bear in mind thow..

trog

[Coastal Flyer]

Does that mean I need a Nikon? Or anything other than a Canon?

[GB1]

CF - I find the first one sort of clipped off. I guess its the background flower that is, but that still makes the subject one seemed clipped too. If you could somehow isolate it w/o the backcolors, I think it would be a stronger image.

The second is very powerful, at least color wise. It looks 3-D. I find the water droplets interesting. Somehow though, this pic's vividness is overpowering and sadly, in a bad way. I don't know exactly why but its colors seem to hit me like a sledgehammer instead of gracefully. Perhaps it's because we exact a flower to relax and sooth rather than jump out like this (???).

Oh well, just my opinion anyways, always ignorable

[Coastal Flyer]

GB,

Wow, what interesting comments, especially regarding #2. I didn't think about it that way. I appreciate you sharing that insight.

Thanks for the comments.

CF

[trog100]

"Does that mean I need a Nikon? Or anything other than a Canon?"

different brands are known for different things.. subjective brand loyalty kinda throws a big cloud over things thow.. canon have the least noise.. the sharpest jpegs.. in some ways the most polished images..

i dont think they are known for having the most "natural" looking images thow.. so if a more natural softer less "processed" looking image is your desire the answer to your question might well be yes..

i treat your question as an honest question and have tried to give an honest answer..

trog

[starriderrick]

Great colours. Nice DOF. Crisp, sharp, and beautiful. Can't find much to critique however because if I had shot these shots I would be very proud of them.

Good work CF.

The second image is popping out of my screen... a couple of different ways to take that. :O)

Rick

[Coastal Flyer]

Rick,

I'll take it as a compliment and thank you for the comments.

Trog: please know that I am not taking any of your comments personally or with any malice on your part. I consider your comments to be constructive, well intended, and meaningful. And I truly mean that. I know nothing of your background or experience in photography, but I do know you post some fine images and therefore can assume you know enough to have an opinion. It all works for me.

Thanks both for taking the time to provide feedback.

CF

[Overbeyond]

Dear CF
CF I honestly feel these images are a bit 'hard' (trying to think of a better word but cannot at the moment) for such a delicate subject. They look as if flash was used though I know it wasn't.
I also feel that they are overburdoned by the amount and size of the dew droplets which in this case does not do the beauty of the flowers any favours. I think it's the combination of water and the light that gives them this hard feel.
Bear in mind though that these words are from a man who never photographed a flower in his life.
Tom

[Coastal Flyer]

Tom,

Thanks very much for your insight. Hard, is a good word for it and I rather thought that might create some appeal as it presents something different in a flower shot. But, I completely understand what you are saying. Thanks so much for the comments.

CF

[M_Young]

Both pics are good, but I would add more contrast on them especially the fist one.