Harp & Bow

A little busy. Does not really draw your eye anywhere.

I agree with Darren.
I think that your postprocessing techniques (e.g. Shadow/Highlight filter?) need some improvements. Much of your work appears to lack contrast.

I really like the concept personally, but appreciate your opin Darren. Thanks!

As far as the processing goes, there is no doubt there is room for improvement on my end overall. But if you could view this photo on this monitor, and obviously you can't, it is precisely crisp, even in the NPN version. I kid you not. (No, not a calibrated monitor.) So let me try to "overprocess" (according to how it looks here) and repost. Again, I don't mind critique at all, just trying to explain what I'm seeing. Thanks folks!!

OK, here is a touch up in Elements. Again, it's just hard to look at something on your (well, my) monitor and say, "ok, that will do", when most of what I'm seeing is totally saturated and over pixellated. Hope it works though, just have to wrap my head around it to go beyond what looks normal on here (or get a decent monitor calibrated) for posting.

Your repost is oversharpened. Personally i think the original looks ok in terms of processing, even with the new limits compression is going to be a challenge with that subject. Some real nice detail and a great subject. My only nit is that for me, the branch on the left disrupts the harmony of the shot a bit.

Thank you Stan!!

Now the branch on the left, and "harmony", that wasn't a PUNishing nit, was it?? lol.

Bill, I've recently touched on the processing issues also. It's not the sharpness that's a problem, it is opening the shadows too much causing a flat looking image.

Hi Kah Kit, yes you have and I've certainly agreed with you and others in most cases. I just don't see that problem here, in the small or the larger version--I see crisp details, depth and color. In fact, I thought this one of my better processed images, honestly. I am a veritable newbie with PSE so of course it's an adjustment in thinking and in seeing things. I'm taking it all in and always appreciate everyone's feedback.