Dead Flowers

[bristolmono]

Like most people I am self isolating and missing getting out and about taking pictures.
I have a garden but I'm not a gardener. So I have been relying on dead flowers I can find in the garden, photographed on a table top. Comments and criticism would be appreciated.
[IMG]554A9525 Dead Flowers by derek webber, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]554A9473 flowers print by derek webber, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Wavelength]

I really liked both of them

[pschlute]

Yes me too. very imaginative and effective.

[billtils]

Nicely done Derek, in composition and technique. Dead vegetation can produce interesting textures that are not found in the healthy plants, as these shots demonstrate.

[Manfred M]

Conceptually very strong and well executed images, especially for the first one!

Let me ask four questions (mostly applying to the second image). These are quite picky points.

1. Does the frame enhance or detract from the image?

2. Should the background be completely neutral (there is a slight red colour cast on the background of the second image? The first one is almost perfectly neutral.

3. Is the flower lying on the foreground positioned too close to the left hand edge of the image?

4. Should the vase and the stem of the flower in #3 overlap or should there be more distance between them?


P.S. You can post a larger image by selecting one of the larger formats in Flickr. I tend to use an image that is 2480 pixels on the longest side as is a decent trade-off for load time versus image quality.

[DanK]

I like these. I agree with Manfred about the frame. Re the background: IMHO, the issue is what you intended. Did you intend for one to be less neutral?

Re the vases: it seems to me that the vase in the first one is a positive compositional element. It's well positioned, and the flowers draped on it are effective. I find the vase in the second picture a bit distracting, both because of the pattern in it--which is bright and high contrast, to it attracts the eye--and because it continues up into the flowers. I think the latter point is what Manfred is pointing to with his #4.

I don't know how you posted these, but however you did it, it isn't possible to expand the photos much. I link to Smugmug, not Flickr, so I don't know the specific cause of this problem.

[Manfred M]

I think the latter point is what Manfred is pointing to with his #4.

Points 3 and 4 deal solely with the flower that is not in the vase, but lying on the background.

I have checked and Derek has chosen to post a small version of the image. That can be changed as per what I wrote in the PS in #6. I would agree that the white vase in more effective than the glass one.

[bristolmono]

Thanks very much for the comments.
The questions asked.
1. I like the frame but I get as many that do not. I guess it's like marmite.
2. Backgrounds look ok on my screen.
3. Yes, flower is to close but I thought no one would notice.
4. Vase and flower stem should not overlap. I was too busy getting rid of the other end of the flower to stop it touching the frame to notice. Thanks again for the help.
Derek