Burrs on the Prairie

[Mike Fuhr]

I found these cockle burrs on the prairie in northern Oklahoma -- really liked the texture and the monochromatic nature of the shot. Would love to hear your comments.

Nikon D50
100-300 f4
f/5
300mm
1/1000
ISO200

Thanks,

Mike

[Ed Vatza]

Good morning Mike,

First off, I too find burrs like this a worthy wintertime subject. I do like the monochromatic aspect. Also I think the composition is very good. I like the way the branch moves from LL to UR. I do wish there was greater depth of field though as I would prefer all the burss to be sharp. I also think if you would have gotten just a little bit lower, you might have been able to eliminate those grass blades from the LR. I think the upper part of the background is superb. Finally the image seems a bit dark to me resulting in loss of some of the detail. Keep working that subject, Mike.

[Julie Kenward]

I totally agree with Ed - I'm wondering if you have tried a shadow/highlight adjustment to bring out more detail in those burrs? That might be the lift you need to give your subject more detail. You might also be able to do the same thing with a "screen" blending mode layer and just reduce the opacity until it gets to where you want it.

As for the BG, if you spent the time carefully cloning, I think you could eliminate the OOF grass blades but that's entirely up to you. If you want to leave some of the environment in the BG on purpose then make sure you do so clearly at the time you make the image. You can always blur it later in pp.

With all the texture and unique look I think this is a plant you should definitely pursue in the future!

[Mike Moats]

Hey Mike, I don't mind the BG, but would have liked to seen a little more DOF on the burrs.

[Mike Fuhr]

These are all great suggestions. I played around with the background quickly and like the result -- it's a bit less distracting. I also tried to bring out a bit more detail.

I cannot give it more DOF so I'm going to go out and see if I can re-shoot this weekend...

Thanks for the help/suggestions.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Mike, as you increase your DOF for the burrs you.ll add a little more details to the BG so try shooting at some different angle and decide what works best when you get it home on the computer. The repost BG does look better, but I didn't mind the first one.

[Mike Fuhr]

Thanks Mike. I'll try several different DOFs and backgrounds. I just hope I can find more burrs!