Fern in moss

[Chris Ober]

Walking up Elk Mountain in the Wichita Mountains, there are some granite steps and these ferns and moss were growing at the base of a couple of them. 30D, 70-200mm with 1.4x. 228mm, 0.4sec @ f/22. Had to save at 50% to get under 200k.

[Anita Bower]

I like the diagonal lines in this image--those of the fronds, the leaves, and the striations in the rock--lots of zig-sags to grab the viewer's attention. The fern stands out nicely from the bg. I wish there were more detail in the fern; not sure why there isn't. I find all those little rocks and other debris distracting; next time you might try cleaning them up before taking the photo. I love little ferns such as this one.

[Ken Childs]

Hey Chris, I really like the double diagonal you've captured here! I don't mind the small rocks but some of them are bright so toning them down a bit would be a good idea. The large rock really adds to this but I think there's too much of it so I'd crop a pretty good amount from the top....enough to get the left side of the rock so it takes up about 1/3 of the left frame. Even if this is how the fern looked, I'd consider desaturating the greens and darkening them a bit. Right now it looks too green, IMHO. Definitely a keeper and a few tweaks will make it look even better! :)

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Chris. I think Anita and Ken have pretty well covered my thoughts. I like the dual diagonals in the comp. Good DOF to keep everything sharp. I would probably have cleaned up most of the small bits of debris prior to taking the image and I agree about cropping some of the rock as it is competing for my attention with the cool greenery. One of the first things I thought when I looked at this photo was the this looks like "Velvia" green rather than "real" green - so I think Ken is on the right track with suggesting some desaturation. This is a strong image and a few tweaks will take it up a couple of notches. :)

[Chris Ober]

Thanks all. The lack of detail kind of bugs me too. Looking at the RAW file, there is even very little there to speak of, and not from the exposure I don't think. The leaves just don't have much. I suspect the 50% and the small size only make that bit worse :)

I'll work on the greens some.

[Myer Bornstein]

I agree with all the above

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Chris,
Can't really add much to the excellent comments above.....but will suggest that you could also rotate the camera in the field.....to get the fern on more of a diagonal.....no horizon to worry about and it may improve the comp a bit. I want to also comment on the clean up that Anita first mentioned.....in macro I often spend more time on that.....than actually taking the picture!.....just something to keep in mind for in the field!!!