Challenge: Clover Closeup

[Christopher Miller]

I photographed clover quite a bit over the weekend trying to come up with something for the challenge. Any comments and suggestions would be most appreciated.

Olympus SP-550 UZ
f3.5 @ 1/125, ISO 100
Aperture priority mode, pattern metering, cloudy WB
Processed in PS CS2; cropped, curves adjustment, shadow/highlight, noise reduction, and cloned out some tiny spots on the flower

[Bob Miller]

HI chris...I like the repeating pattern of the petals and the bg and colors seem to work well together. I think I would like to see a bit more of the foreground rows in sharp focus....perhaps a smalller aperture

[Cheryl Flory]

I like it, I didn't know that clover had streaks of color in the petals. very cool. Unsure if i like the oof clover directly behind it, or moved more to one side. But certainly such a nice foreground!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Christopher,
I'm OK with the shallow DOF but am debating the BG bloom?...just not adding to the overall composition. I do think you composed the petals nicely...perhaps toning back on some of the brightness and going for a touch more contrast? Just a few options to explore.

[Mike Fuhr]

Very cool -- I like this one. The color is nice and I like your DOF. Undecided on the BG bloom.

By the way, each of those petals is actually a flower -- they have that classic legume shape.:)

[Christopher Miller]

Thanks Bob, Cheryl, Roman, and Mike. I appreciate the comments. Here's a repost with it toned down a bit and a touch more contrast.

Mike, I never knew that each petal of a clover was a individual flower. Very interesting.

[Steve Adkins]

Hi Christopher, Great closeup and subject. I like the repost changes. Fun to see your vision. :)

[OvidiuCavasdan]

I like the repost better, nice colors, not sure about the oof flower, but like the green in the BG. It's a common flower but good looking and a good macro subject. Well captured.

[Anita Bower]

I especially like the middle part of this image; the colors, the various tones of pink, the lines, the curves. I think it is a difficult subject. I like the repost better. The white spot in the center upper third and the out of focus flower distract me. Thank you for this close up look at a lovely flower I tend to ignore.

[Fabs Forns]

Agree on the OOF clump in the BG, that's where my eyes went first. Toning it down sure helped a lot.

[Alfred Forns]

Repost looks good !! .. usually tough having oof things in the foreground !!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Christopher, nice job on this wonderful clover. I like your original post with the softer pinks. I feel the repost is a bit too dark at the bottom. I'm not too fond of the OOF flower in the BG and would suggest to crop it off. If you crop some off the bottom as well, you'll end up with a nice square frame.

[Ken Childs]

Christopher, I like the detail this shot shows on such a common flower. They don't seem so common when viewed so close.

I agree that the OOF flowers in the BG are distracting. Since I like to go in really close, I think I might like a tight crop showing just the 3 flowers in the center.

You've inspired my to try some shots of these. :)

[Julie Kenward]

Very nice image for the challenge, Christopher! I also think you could crop in a bit from the bottom and a bit from the top and just fill the frame with this really clean, in focus petals. You really did get down close with this one!

Mike, thanks for the interesting fact about each petal being a flower! How cool is that?

[Christopher Miller]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the comments.