Enduring Contrast: Life Amidst the Stone

[The amateur]

The rock, rough and smooth with age and glistening with a damp sheen, stands ageless. But a small pool of vibrant yellow-green algae proclaimed life's enduring persistence.

[Round Tuit]

This looks good to me Antonio. I wonder though if you need that much rock. Perhaps a crop closer to a square would be more effective?

[DanK]

I agree with Andre. Specifically, I would crop from the top because that material is farther from the yellow and las much less interesting textures.

This is also the sort of image for which I think it is often helpful to be less realistic and exaggerate textures and colors. It's all a matter of taste, of course, but to show what I mean, I'll past here a photo I have hanging on a wall. It does have some exaggeration, although less than you might think. See what you think.

[Geoff F]

I agree with Andre about cropping a little from the less interesting rock at the top of this image. But not too much.

[The amateur]

Thank you, André, Dan and Geoff , for your always insightful comments.

I tried a tighter framing, and to be honest, I found it quite pleasing—actually, very much so. You can see the result below.
It’s true that the upper part of the original image has a very different texture, but I don’t believe that takes away from the overall composition.
I agree that exaggerating texture and colours can work well in this type of photograph, but since this one already has a certain level of enhancement, I chose not to push it further.
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On second thought, as I write this post, I decided to rework the image by enhancing the colours, adding more brightness, and slightly increasing the saturation. I’m not sure I like it more—perhaps I overdid it a bit...

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[The amateur]

Because of this thread and your comments, I went looking through my photographs for rock textures where live Nature is present. Among the many I have, I chose to share this one with you, not for life hidden in a crevice, but for the life that thrives on the very surface of the stone.

[LenR]

Agreed, the tighter crop is an improvement......