Clematis Seedpod

[Bob Miller]

Found this clematis seedpod in the garden yesterday.
Nikon D-300
1/8 sec at f22
ISO 1250
tripod
Comments welcome!

[Jay Sheinfield]

Hi Bob,

This one isn't moving me fore or aft............did you have the opportunity to move the feathered arms into a pattern. The arms at 10:00 and 5:00 show a pattern that might have been more interesting if repeated all the way around. I'm wondering if a pure white BG would have complimented this image, rather than the black empty space..................along with a different crop. Try experimenting with this one a bit more and see............there is always potential to be revealed ;)

[Anita Bower]

I like this one a lot. I like the simplicity and naturalness of it contrasting with the artificial black BG. I think you could brighten it up a bit to make it pop more, and crop all around to help focus on the seedpod. Good details. Thanks.

[Ken Childs]

Hey Bob, I'm with Anita on this one. It's a very interesting design and I think cropping in closer and adding contrast will really make this one pop! There are a bunch of white spots in the BG that are somewhat distracting. An easy way in Photoshop to make sure you find most of these is to open up a duplicate layer (Windows ctrl + j) and change the blend mode to screen. Paint or clone over the spots and when you're done, change the blend mode back to normal.

[Steve Maxson]

This is an interesting subject, Bob, and I'd like to learn more about how you set up this shot (as per Anita's post earlier today :) ). You have good sharpness and DOF, and the seed pod stands out well from the black background. I think the image would be stronger if the one "arm" wasn't crossing over the one below. I would also suggest cleaning up all the little specks in the black background and perhaps trying a tighter crop. Lots of possibilities with this subject material. :)

[Anita Bower]

There are a bunch of white spots in the BG that are somewhat distracting. An easy way in Photoshop to make sure you find most of these is to open up a duplicate layer (Windows ctrl + j) and change the blend mode to screen. Paint or clone over the spots and when you're done, change the blend mode back to normal.
Thanks for this tip! :)

[Ian Cassell]

I like this a lot. I would evict the spots in the BG and make it pure black.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Bob, coming in a little late but agree with many comments above. Agree about the backround cleanup which I noticed right away. I like your idea but would of preferred the 2 bottom strands not merging.
I would crop some off the left but leave more room on the left than the right so the subject is offset. Also agree on a bit more contrast and I would give it a bit more sat. Nice detail!!

[Bob Miller]

Ken...When I created a background copy...changed the blend to screen...the spots showed up better....but when i went to begin cloning it would not let me clone on that layer....Am I doing something wrong?

[Ken Childs]

When I clone or paint over them in screen mode, it only appears to partially remove the spots but there should be some noticeable change, even if it is slight. To check the progress, change the mode back to normal and then turn the copy layer on and off to see the results. If that doesn't work, let me know and I'll check into it further.

[Bob Miller]

HI Ken...painting seems to work for me but cloning is a no go!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Bob,
Excellent advice given above and can't add there.....but all for tighter crop and clen up......then this one will shine!!!