Reaching for the sun

Sandy: Your best image so far. I like the square crop and that you included the reflection. My only tiny nit is the reflected tree trunks(?) above the flowers. I might crop down some from the top to get rid of some of the reflections and/or clone them out. I also see you figured out the larger version. 2 thumbs up! >=))>

Thanks Bill, I guess I'm not hopeless! I'm out of town right now, and not getting a good view of the tree trunks on this little computer, but I will check it out tomorrow evening when I get home. Thanks.

Scott - Very nice frame. It is getting better and better. You did well to include the Lily reflection in the frame and shoot from a lower angle.

Apart from what Bill has mentioned, I think :

1. A vertical frame including the two Lilies on the right and the bud underneath those would perhaps also make for a nice composition. When you are at the scene, make as many frames as you can with different compositions.

2. I see slight cool (blue-ish) cast on the photo. You may want to revisit the White Balance if you shot in RAW. You have whites in the scene, so you should be able to use the right balance using white balance picking tool in RAW Dialogue box.

Ram, thanks so much for the suggestions. I shoot in JPEG rather than raw. I did shoot a few of them that morning and have different persectives on it including a lesser field of view highlighting just one Lilly, etc. This one just felt overall more pleasing to my eye. I am certainly motivated to learn and improve and I am listening carefully to all suggestions. Thanks!

Hi Sandy beautifully composed with fine color
Albert Darmo
Canada

Sandy, I like this one much more than the following one. The white water lilies are in excellent light and the reflection is superb. This is a beautifully conceived photo which works well because of the adherence to the Rule of Odd Numbers because odd numbers are more attractive to the eye, odd numbers are eg. 3 elements in a photo are always preferable to 2. Well done.

Miro, thanks so much for your comment, because as a newbie to this, I just learned something new. I was well aware of the rule of thirds, but not the rule of three. Fascinating, but as I think about it, it makes total sense. Another weapon in my quiver!

All of what Bill and Ram said makes sense, but they are tweaks to make a better image in PP. First, I think one of the things they didn't mention are the lily pads. They add a very nice sense of dimension to the frame. Second, while Ram mentioned shooting in RAW, I wish he had mentioned other extra benefits that RAW gives you. It takes a while to get used to, certainly. But it is such a clear improvement in flexibility over JPEG. The latter is a means of reducing file size by discarding pixels that are algorithmically extraneous. However well designed it might be, detail is lost which cannot be regained and artifacts are introduced that are difficult to remove. RAW on the other hand allows you to bring out texture in shadows and highlights that are lost in JPEG. I strongly recommend learning RAW if you want to take the next step in nature photography.

Phil, thanks for looking and the comments. I probably will be getting around to shooting in RAW as I get deeper into it, but I am taking it a step at a time. There is so much to learn and know. For starters, I was a bit overwhelmed when my DSLR arrived a few months ago. Even though I am used to operating rather complex equipment as an airline pilot, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I know at least feel pretty comfortable operating the camera. I also need to get more into learning PSE11. I will look more into using RAW soon. Thanks.

Sandy, I love all here: the whites, colors, lights, composition ... I love the image.

Sandy:

A very nice photo, one of your best flora post to date. No further suggestions to what Bill and Ram have said.

I agree with Bill and others, Sandy - this is beautifully lit and composed and photographed from the perfect perspective.. The flower reflections are a delight - though maybe the branches above could indeed go.

Gary and Ian, thank you both so much. I am more than delighted with the comments especially considering that I was really a total newbie when this was shot. It encourages me to try harder and put in some more effort in that this was really one of those shots that simply appealed to my eye, I turned my camera from my avian intended targets and quickly captured the image.