Enchanted Garden!

[Ramesh Adkoli]

My native is in western part of india and our ancestral house is surrounded by beetle nut plants. I never realised the beauty of this plantation till i looked through the view finder at the morning sun shining on these plants. Would love to hear your views on this image.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3611/3615743043_db747812e9_o.jpg (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3611/3615743043_db747812e9_o.jpg)

EXIF: Nikon D700, 105mm Micro VR, 1/60s, f/11, ISO 200, Hand held

regards,
ramesh

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Hi Ramesh,

It sure looks enchanted. Nice use of the sunburst, I would have tried to place it on one of the rule of thirds intersecting points (top right for me that is). I like the interaction between shadows and light. If anything, I wish the sky showing were not so "cooked" though that is not something you could have avoided anyway.

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Thanks Akos for your views. i don't remember whether i would have caught more sky i placed the sun at that position. I placed the sun at top to catch those light rays. Sunburst was a bonus;-)

Let me hear what others have to say about it.

regards,
ramesh

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Ramesh, I didn't think I would like this one when I first saw it but it has some strong elements working for it. I agree with Akos for a more preferable placement of the sunburst but it's placement does give me the feel of looking through the forest canopy. You have minimized the sky nicely as well and don't find the brightest area that distracting. You may want to crop a bit off the right and proportionally off the bottom.....just to take the sun a bit off center......but I still find something appealing here.....like I'm just finding the edge of the dense forest. The sun rays and burst are the stars here....the rest just add atmosphere. Even though this could have benefitted from a bit of composition adjustments in the field......I still find this has plenty of appeal as presented.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Ramesh,
Good to see you here. It is great that you started appreciating the beauty that is around you. Too often we fail to notice that.

In this image, I feel the point of interest is the starburst. So it would have been good if the starburst would have been a bit lower in the frame, as that would have made it appear in full. An offcentre placement might be worth investigating.

The backlit leaves add some nice touch. My eyes also move through the foliage towards the bright areas and look for a point of interest. Since it is your garden, you can investigate some alternate compositions.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Hi Roman, glad you liked the image. Cropping to offcenter the sun is a good idea. I will try that. I am in line with your analysis of the image. When i saw it first, i felt it was too cluttered, but as my eyes were led by the sun rays to the sunburst, i found its potential. Thanks again for your review.

Hi Sabya, thanks for your comments. i took this image when i visited my native in Jun. Monsoons is when this plantation is at it greenest best and that is also when you rarely get to see the sun! I could take just two snaps and then the sun vanished, never to return for the rest of my visit;-( I will definitely give this a try on my future trips.

regards,
ramesh

[Robert Amoruso]

Ramesh,

I agree with Roman's and Sabyasachi comments. I know you handheld, but to me this would have been killer on a tripod with more depth of field. Starburst is really cool looking.

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Thanks Robert.

[Morkel Erasmus]

this is very nice. can't add much to what has already been said, but a very pleasing image. I agree that the sun and rays provide a sense of 'release' from a dense forest canopy.

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Thanks Morkel. BTW, as suggested, i tried to crop to offcenter the sun. Didn't work. I will have to wait for another opportunity to take this image;-(

regards,
ramesh

[Fabs Forns]

Excellent advise given above, it's really a magical place :)
Thanks for sharing it.