I like it a lot. Probably my favorite of your still life shots. I pertticularly like how the curves of the vace complimrnt the shape of the mellon sectins.
A very nice still life, with a hint of the Dutch Golden Age influence (something we sometimes refer to as "New Dutch").
I wonder what this would have looked like had you shot from a slightly lower shooting position?
My preference is the original version. In addition to shooting from a lower position in the second shot, is the camera also slightly moved laterally? Part of the attraction in the first shot is perhaps also related to a slightly longer exposure?
Yes, the second shot is not fully developed as I did not really rate it. It could do with slightly tighter crop, an increase in brightness and perhaps a tweak to the colour temperature.
I posted the mainly unprocessed file just to show the effect of a lower view point.
I prefer the direction of the second shot, even though it is not as polished as the first one. The first one looks like the photographer was in a normal standing position, holding the camera to his eye. This is how most photos are taken and in general, they tend to have less impact on the viewer than those taken from other shooting positions.
Interesting, I'll work up the second shot and see how it compares when finished.
When I first started doing flower photography many years ago, I chanced on a post by Scott Kelby who made the same point about flower photography. Taking the shot from a standing position often gives you an uninteresting snapshot of a flower. The key is to find a different perspective, often just lower or closer, but something that is different and interesting.
Too many photographs are taken from 5ft up with the camera in landscape mode.
Roy ( Just my opinion )
Yes, fortunately I'm 6' 2".