yes, no ?

[davidhampshire]

ok,   rip my photo apart.    k-5,  dfa 100 macro lens,    not sure i like the sepia color

[blackcloudbrew]

Well, I don't think that you will find us ripping anyone's photos very much. Hopefully we are more constructive and kinder than that. I'll start with a few observations.

1. It's nicely sharp on the main subjects.
2. I think the background blur (bokeh) is ok, I might have liked it more blurred but that's just me.
3. Not sure I like the sepia treatment either as there really isn't enough contrast in this to make it work. Interesting choice though. If you want to give us more food for comment, post the color image or more conventional b&w version of this.
4. Composition - there is a lot of space in this image. I realize that was necessary to get the foreground subjects in but cropping this down a bit would allow more focus on the main subject and bring the viewer into the shot.

Those are some of the things I see right off. I note too that if I expand this on sections of the main plant stock on some of the leaves, the image draws me in more and get's more interesting - and the sepia treatment works much better.

See what you think about that.

Earl

[spyglass]

Hi Davidhampshire,

Thank you for the opportunity to explore your work and pass on some thoughts and ideas. There is no right or wrong just an endless opportunity for different.
I tend to like sepia-tone for subjects that are dry, old, rustic, wooden, dusty, worn, etc.  This photo does fall into the category. As far as treatments go I think it is more a person choice (what you might like to see vs true to what you saw).
From a composition point of view there is a lot going on. The plant growth in  the lower left hand corner  does compete a bit with the center stalk. The weighting of the back ground splits the photo. The light bottom with dark upper forms a  horizontal dividing line which draws and holds my eye. I do not see this as a deal breaker and may even be useful as a centering means depending on the final crop of the photo.

One trick I love doing with my photos is to create a tube with my hand. I  place my hand tube up tight against my face and look at the photo through the tube. I start off with the tube size small so that I can only see the main subject. Then I expand the tube to included surrounding information. I stop when something starts to compete, or the relationship between subject and background fail to enhance or support the subject. It is a good way to evaluate as see from basic simple to full view. I find that simple is generally better for most subjects.
When I did this with your photo I noticed that the center stalk offered a 3D like presence. The center stalk, in my opinion, does have enough strength to stand alone and offer enough interest. I really think this photo would be serve up best if kept simple and to a point with a tighter crop.

Spyglass

[davidhampshire]

thank you both for the ideas,   i tried to crop that photo,  ( which i agree it needs )   and re-post it,  but don't really like the various crops that much either,      so i'll put another couple pics up instead