Flower Abstract

[Aidan Briggs]

A flower from my backyard.

400D, 60mmf/2.8
1/125, f/2.8, ISO 200

[Bruce Murden]

Hi Aidan,

I like this viewpoint on the flower, and the small DOF for limited sharpness works for me as an abstract. The light stems or grasses in the BG, however, pull my attention out and away from the flower. For views like this, you could check for brighter objects in the BG and remove them or tie/hold them out of the view, or just clone them out afterwards. The extra BG above the bloom also pulls my eye away from the bloom. I'd consider a square crop for this, with just a little green above the petals.

Thanks for your image. Keep on capturing and posting!

[Robert O'Toole]

Aidan,

I really like the colors and composition and the limited DOF is a great effect.

A agree with Bruce about the OOF BG elements.

In the repost I applied curves for additional contrast and some Blur to the BG to eliminate the OOF objects.



Robert

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hey Aiden, I agree with the above, but would go a step further and get rid of the green BG all together. I suggest cropping to a horizontal completely to the bottom of the original image and make the top end somwhere in the OOF yellow petals.
On my computer it seems like none of the central stamina is in complete focus over its whole length (but the sun is shining brightly on my screen, so I can't really tell for sure). Would suggest to try this next time, it will give you a focus point in your abstract. I like those colors you captured here!
- Jerry -

[Julie Kenward]

I agree with all the other commenters. I could go either way with leaving the green in or not - both would be interesting I think. I do agree that getting one or two points of focus in an abstract is really important - it gives the viewer a place for their eyes to focus while they get lost in the dreaminess of the image.