Sunset with beardtongue

nice...I guess you could get rid of some of the clutter on the right but the simplicity really works

Hmm. I really don't see it as clutter, Mike, but I respect your opinion.

Charles

Mike has a valid point, Charles. Things partially creeping in from the side of the frame are artistically distracting. You should either include more of them or clone or crop them out. It's not a major deal, but the image is much stronger without them.

Michael, I didn't say Mike didn't have a valid point. I believe I said I didn't share it. There's plenty of room for different artistic visions, and sensibilities. I don't see it as clutter. In fact, in my opinion, there is a tendency to focus a bit too much on floral genitalia to the exclusion of other elements. Not nearly often enough do I see mention made here of appreciation for the "environmental" elements of an image. A common fashion is to focus in on the limits of what the technology can produce, like extreme closeups. Many are beautiful of course, but that's not the end of the story. To me the "clutter" here is beautiful. It is distinctive to this species and, to me at least, enhances my appreciation of the flower. And I find that the shadowed buds contrast nicely with the backlit flower against this background. It would be less of an image without it. That's my opinion.

Now, you have a different opinion. That's fine. It's more than fine. It's essential to our lives. But don't try and tell me yours is better than mine. That's an opinion I don't respect. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. No matter who else shares it. This isn't objective science after all.

Charles

Charles,

I like the plant and this seems to me to be a great bg for it.

For me, the truncated portion of the plant on the viewers right dominates the image, followed by the anthers and then the other antennae like structures. As with all your work that I've seen to date, it interests me. My first suggestion would have been to clone the right edge out but as I consider it and imagine it gone, the image becomes less interesting to me without it. However, If the image is intended for communication, then I think this is a very odd locution but then I suppose most poetry could be similarly described. That said, I'm assuming you've structured it to say what you want.

If you'll keep posting them, I'll keep looking. (smile)

Pat

I hope you do, Pat. That will please me greatly.

And I wonder if the best poetry in nature isn't to be found in its "clutter." And that reminds me a bit of something I wrote once, back in the early 80's I think (early 90's? I forget). Maybe a little sophomoric, but no harm in sharing, huh?


The Critic

What pudding is this on my spoon?

It has a lovely sheen...
like an explorer's moon.

See there an exotic spider's skein
that once one pulls an end
it pulls you to an end.

And here, in this northernmost quadrant,
coruscations sleep mid lazy leaps from state to resting state.

And what of this?
This dark and fulsome matter I've just unearthed.
What rough and tumbled duff
having all the tendriled charm of an ancient unkempt garden
is this stuff?

I put it to an ear...
and seagulls scream,

and careen.

Is this supposed to be organic?

Well, it is green.


-Charles

Hi Charles. Convention (I won't attempt to define that ) may say crop some from the right, but that is a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. Photography, as in any other art form, is a personal expression of the photographer. We don't all see things the same way. For myself, I've learned a great deal from the variety of opinions expressed in reference to images that I have posted. All that to say this; I really like the lighting and BG in your image. I would prefer that the flower be a bit more off center. But again, that would be my preference. I however, didn't take the picture.

Hi, Philip.

I think that, by definition, conventions aren't hard and fast rules because they can change. Either under certain conditions, or over time as fashions do. And I think that this image is just such a special circumstance. To me it represents the combination of beauty and wildness that I see reasserting itself on what was a formerly mowed landscape. And that is an integral part of what it is meant to convey.

I'm sometimes guilty of being inattentive. Of focusing on some aspects to the detriment of another. Of occasionally missing something obvious even. Or, more likely, of minimizing a fault because of how fond I am of other parts of an image. But I'm not a novice, and I try to error-check myself as best I can. If I were relatively new at this I would be much less inclined to object to someone telling me that doing it another way would be better, even if I didn't agree (or completely understand). But I'm not.

I encourage folks to tell me what they like and don't like about my images. Including things they find distracting. And I don't mind anyone suggesting a way to make one better. But let's be real. Suggestions can somtimes be impractical and unrealistic. Give some sense that you've looked at an image more than casually and at least tried to understand what the person has tried to do with what they had to work with. In this image I really think a careful look at the simple elements should make it obvious that the decision where to crop within the frame was made deliberately. And you may assume that I considered the alternatives before deciding to present it as I have. If you would prefer it another way, as you have, fine. Tell me that. But telling me authoritatively that it would be better another way, well, frankly I think that's kind of insulting. Whether or not it was meant to be. And I needed to say so.

Regards,

Charles

I like the poem Charles, particularly the imagery and the music in the language.

Pat

Oh this is good. Love the flower and its background. I think if you felt so inclined that cloning out the tips of greenery on the right would do a lot for an already fine image.

Catherine, I'm almost certain that you didn't bother to wade through all the messages above before commenting. I do think cloning out those bits on the top right would make it a prettier image. A more comfortable one too. And a much better choice than cropping. But I think whether or not it would be a better image is debatable. I think it would remove something natural that tells me it's "supposed" to be there -- and unnecessarily tame the wildness in it.

Charles

Charles: Great BG and a beautiful flower. I especially like the lighting. Nicely done.>=))>