Sign of spring

[Andreas Freund]

Yesterday I discovered the first snowdrops in our garden. I was so happy to see the first signs of spring that I had to take some pictures of it. So the sun was shining, the first flowers are showing up. I live in Michigan and I am really tired of the long winter. So I am always looking forward to see the first signs that the winter will end soon. I hope you enjoy the picture! :)

Sony Alpha 700
Tamron SP AF60mm F/2.0 Di II LD [IF] Macro
1/80s
f/8
ISO200
60mm
Giottos MT-9360 tripod

Photo was processed in Lightroom and Photoshop CS4

[Desmond Chan]

Overall the composition works for me. I would be tempted to do something to that white petal that is touching the frame on the right. I think I personally would darken the background, too. Not sure about the sharpness as I think more sharpening may give a different feel to the pic.

[Anita Bower]

i think you chose an aperture that achieved the right balance between sharpness of flowers and a blurred bg. this is a challenging situation. i agree with desmond about the one white petal--can it be cloned out? i like the composition and angle of view. snowdrops are a wonderful sign of spring. :)

[Ken Childs]

It's always a wonderful feeling to find those first flowers of the year!

It's a lovely image! Here's another vote for trying to do something with the petal on the right. Of course that means you have to either rebuild the leaf that runs behind it or clone that out too. I might be tempted to crop a tiny bit off the left and a bit more off the top.

[Julie Brown]

These flowers always mean spring is here, even if it does snow again!

I like the composition, Andreas. I would vote for cloning out the petal.:)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Andreas,
These are very tough from a DOF perspective and this angle......following some of the recommendations above will help improve this one another notch.

[Julie Kenward]

Everyone else pretty much hit the technicals - you guys are so good! :D I'd also clone the one petal but I don't think I'd crop anything else - it feels "almost tight" to me as it is.

[Cindy Mead]

beautiful soft light and colors Andreas- I like how you composed this one and it works well for me as is- I'd leave the oof petal, it looks quite natural and for me it isn't at all destracting. Well done :)

[Andreas Freund]

First of all thank you very much for your nice comments. Actually I took two shoots of the snowdrop. The version I showed you first was the first one. When I saw the two white pedals in the background I decided to take a second one. This time I removed the background blossom.

But later when I was processing the picture I was feeling like that something is missing in the picture. You have to know that day it was pretty windy and the flowers were always moving around. So it was hard to find the right time to shoot the picture. And I think I was missing that dynamic in the second version. But as I said, it was just my feeling. :)

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Andreas. Lovely image. I prefer the contrast between light and dark in the first image but I like the absent background blossom of the second. I also think the comp of the second shot is better with the space at the top and bottom more balanced.:)

[Anita Bower]

both images are lovely. we offer suggestions, but the ultimate decision is always yours. we all learn and grow in the exchange. :)