hoarfrost on leaf

[swanseadave]

A bitterly cold day last January with my newly acquired Minolta 50mm macro on Sony Alpha100.

Minor tweaks in CS4 and resized for web.

Thanks for looking

[ktuli]

David,

First, welcome to CIC.

I think you have a very interesting subject here (and kudos to braving the cold to go find it!), but I think the shot suffers from a couple fundamental problems that prevent me from being sucked into the shot. First, your main subject is lost in the shot - the convergences with other leaves (bottom left, bottom right, and top center) lose the strong edge of the leaf. I don't know how well you would have been able to reposition the leaf, so that certainly is a concern here. However, it appears that your DoF is lacking a little. The base of the leaf (top of the photo) is starting to blur out, and I find myself wishing I could follow the lines of the leaf in all of its patterns (around the outer edge, and along the veins).

All that said (and I hope you don't take it harshly, I am really just offering constructive criticism), I think you've got an interesting photo there, your PP work on it is well done in the sense that I don't recognize any of it, so it blends in well. I do wonder what a B&W treatment would do here (though I know B&W treatment on frost is a bit cliche) or some selective sharpening or vignetting.

Did you happen to get in really close with that 50mm macro and focus on the intricate patterns of the frost at all?

Nice work!

- Bill

[Dave Humphries]

Hi David,

In addition to Bil's suggestions, I also wonder - did you sharpen after downsizing? It might have stood a little more.

Here's one I did early last year; http://www.pbase.com/dhumphries/image/122157919, in fact there's a few others there if you look, many much closer - I really should have got out again this year - I think I could improve on last years efforts. I have a better lens for one thing.

So, as Bill says; "kudos to braving the cold to go find it!", something I failed to, this year

If your fingers can stand it, moving some of the surrounding leaves to simplify the composition helps.

Welcome to the CiC forums from ...

[swanseadave]

Firstly thanks both for taking the time to comment.

The front of the lens was no more than 2" from the subject,hand held in very grey dull conditions.I didn`t sharpen;all I did from memory was increase contrast a bit.

Bill,I take your point about distractions but everything was immoveable(frozen solid)

Hindsight`s a wonderful thing eh?I suppose I could have stopped down a little more.

Many thanks.Constructve critique always welcome

[ktuli]

Hindsight`s a wonderful thing eh?I suppose I could have stopped down a little more.

Yes indeed. And that is why you should take my critiques for what they are worth. Truth be told... I often tell myself the same exact things when I get home and flip through my day's shots. For some reason, it is taking me much longer than it should to train myself to do these things in the field!

- Bill

[swanseadave]

Yes indeed. And that is why you should take my critiques for what they are worth. Truth be told... I often tell myself the same exact things when I get home and flip through my day's shots. For some reason, it is taking me much longer than it should to train myself to do these things in the field!

- Bill

How true of myself too.