The perfect cup

Gallery: FloraPosted October 27, 201069 views11 comments

My trip to Moab this spring brought me some great wildflower displays. These Claret Cups were in full bloom! I normally come too early or too late to catch them.
Let me know what you think!
Thanks for looking,
Anne

D200, ISO200
105mm, f36, 1/5

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Carol Hyman on October 27, 2010 at 9:57 PM

Beautifully sharp, Anne.

Like the detail, the needles, the colors, but not sure the crop works. I'm not sure the dead claret cup on the right works. I think it takes attention away from the subject flower.

Cheers,

Carol

Registered on January 18, 2007, 597 Posts, 8062 Comments

Comment posted by Anne K. Rusk on October 27, 2010 at 10:29 PM

I agree, Carol! Unfortunately with this image, I didn't give myself many options

I hate that when I get back and look through my images and say, "if I had only ..." I have others that I think also have potential that I hope to post soon. In the meantime, how does this crop work?

Registered on October 10, 2010, 65 Posts, 904 Comments

Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on October 27, 2010 at 10:36 PM

I like the original, Anne. There are things that work well there. The bloom and the "blank" are at a diagonal - makes for a strong composition. Normal human nature is to look for a bud or a bloom in that "blank" space. Find nothing, and drives the attention back to the main bloom - which is where the action really is.

That is the way I see this composition and it works well for me

Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments

Comment posted by Angela Classen on October 27, 2010 at 11:00 PM

To each his (or her) own. I like the original post better as well. I love the vibrant color and the sharpness of the cactus spines. Great DOF as well. I love claret cup. I know where a lovely specimen is on the Rustler's Loop Trail near Fruita and now that I live here, I can't wait until spring so I can catch it in full bloom.

Registered on June 13, 2007, 434 Posts, 2742 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on October 28, 2010 at 12:42 AM

Anne:
I think the first post looks fine and prefer it to the repost. The color is really vibrant amongst the scarily sharp thorns.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Krunal Janani on October 28, 2010 at 1:36 AM

I like the original Anne, very interesting flower this

Registered on September 16, 2010, 60 Posts, 1370 Comments

Comment posted by Bob Duff on October 28, 2010 at 7:01 AM

Anne, I too like the original post. What really appeals is the beatiful bloom in a sea of thorns/spines.

Registered on April 21, 2010, 160 Posts, 1675 Comments

Comment posted by Pat Sampson on October 28, 2010 at 7:59 AM

Anne,

I like the composition in the original but there's enough detail in the dead cup that it holds my attention when I look there and for me at least it does compete somewhat with the main bloom. My inclination would be to leave it for the comp but do something to reduce the detail. I'd probably darken the lower right part of the image with a LR gradient and then possilby selective blur and darken the dead cup more - basically just whatever works to de-emphasize it.

Love the main cup.

Pat

Registered on May 19, 2007, 953 Posts, 15989 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Southard on October 28, 2010 at 9:48 PM

Anne, I really like the diagonal comp of the original.

Registered on July 15, 2007, 258 Posts, 3892 Comments

Comment posted by Anne K. Rusk on October 28, 2010 at 10:18 PM

Thanks for all the feedback! I look forward to posting more cup images soon!

Registered on October 10, 2010, 65 Posts, 904 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on October 31, 2010 at 7:04 PM

I really like the interwoven lines of the needles as well as the color in the bloom. Nice light and dof.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments