Flowers, anyone?

[GB1]

Shot these last week or so. I don't consider any of them prize material but some aren't bad. I think getting a great shot of a flower is so easy it's hard.

C&C welcome. Note that the last one was digitally manipulated in PP.

Gb

[GB1]

A few more to chew on....................

[Jesika]

The very first one is my fav of the bunch, I really like it

[PrevailingConditions]

So many to choose from. I like the first and fourth from the first group you posted. I like the first for the DOF and the angle (maybe crop a little off the top). I like the placement of the flower in the fourth and the clarity. The very last purple one is also nice, but I'd lose the blurry purple area in the upper left. All nice shots.

The completely blurry shots don't really work for me.

PC

[MB1]

Those out of focus shots just look wrong.

Of all that you posted I would pick the first one. I'm thinking I like it because of the way the field of flowers almost (but not quite) fills the frame. The grey sky at the top of the image seems to complement the purple flowers.

[GB1]

Ahhh PC, MB.. where's your sense of French Impressionist fla'vor? That's what they reminded me of anyway.. I've never been a "fan" of that style but I do find it fascinating how they transitioned from the representational to the abstract/dreamy and how it caught on for awhile.

Anyways, I agree that somehow the purple seems to rule. PC you're right, that upper area purple spot looks like a mistake (I hadn't even noticed it :frown2: ).

I think there's a week or two left to shoot flowers, maybe I'll do some more this weekend....

GB

[Bigcity]

I like the first one in the first set and the last on in the last set.
I don't mind the blurry flowers as a background, but I don't like to think too long about what I looking at.

[drewphotograph]

i like the first one, but i think it will be better if all of those flowers are in focus.

[GB1]

Bigcity -

Ok, point taken. I agree that most people (and often myself) want the pic to be understandable. But I've also found that photos, paintings, etc that have a dash of mystery about them seem to stand the test of time better if you place it on the wall. This, of course, is subjective.

Drew - I was sort of shooting for a blurry background look, but the decision was already made for me, as there was a breeze that was shaking the flowers around, necessitating a fast shutter speed (and very open aperture). I bumped up the ISO to squeeze some more depth here and there, but that breeze was pretty strong - many of the shots here, where even the main subject flowers aren't esp sharp, were hurt by the breeze.

I guess the answer to the above is to find a low point area where the wind isn't blowing...!

G

[Bigcity]

I have one similar I took that I don't especially love because it is a bit soft, but other people have liked it a lot.

[MB1]

Ahhh PC, MB.. where's your sense of French Impressionist fla'vor? That's what they reminded me of anyway.. I've never been a "fan" of that style but I do find it fascinating how they transitioned from the representational to the abstract/dreamy and how it caught on for awhile. ....GB

Looked again, still don't like them alhough the first one almost works. I'm thinking you really need a special composition to make a completly out of focus work-not a bad project to attempt (I may have to give it a try....:idea: ).

[SmartWombat]

Too many to critique sensibly in one go.
So I'll pick the highlights.

#1 clipped flowers top right and bottom left, otherwise good
#2 dead flower too small, not big enough subject
#3 focus is on top right, not natural subject on left, or right centre
#4 a little too flat, no highlight, shadow too light
#5 I'd bin it, it's just out of focus colour salad

second set
#6 see #5, except it's all yellow
#7 very good colours, best of the lot
#8 lose the OOF flower top left

[GB1]

BC - not bad, I like it softness and all.

MB - Try a walk on the wild photography side. Post the results!

SmartWombat - There are a lot of images. Thanks for the responses, but do you really think of salad when you look at the bottom shot? Yellow salad?? Colorful veggies are supposed to be good for you, but ....

GB

[Reamsie]

I really like the first one. I also like #7, it just kind of pops really well.

[Lori11]

I love the 4th one! I spent an entire day practicing on flowers and blooming trees. I agree the dead flower is to small, maybe try something like that in B&W and see how it looks.