Aquiligea

[Jonathan Ashton]

Tripod cable release mirror lock up, Canon 50D Canon 180mm macro ISO 100 1/50 sec f11.

Yesterday I went to a local pond to try to find Four Spot Chasers - no luck but I did get a Large Red Damselfly - but the light was very harsh. I went home and sulked for a few moments and decided to do a little flower photography. This aquiligea was growing in the front garden, I took several exposures and some with varying degrees of fill in flash. I settled for this one without the flash, I liked the shadows.

All comments welcome.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Jonathan, excellent sharpness and details and I love the deep purple of the flower. The light is quite harsh in this image as well, but as you say, I too like the shadows. BG is nice and smooth, but I do find the green a bit dull.

[Brendan Dozier]

Very nice flower and comp, Jonathan. Like the clean simplicity, and how you framed the flower and the bud and both are in focus. The light was harsh, but the shadows do add a nice additional pattern to the flower..

[Patrick Sparkman]

The composition is nice, and so is the background. However, the light is much to harsh for my taste.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Johnathan,
I'm not the biggest fan of the light either....perhaps just a reflector underneath to open up the shadows a touch instead of the flash? Just an idea for next tiem out. For me....the biggest issue I have with the image is the disconnect with the bloom and the bud......I struggle with that often as there is just too much space between the two so comp wise not my favorite......but I do wonder if that is just my personal preference? I would like to see both closer together.....but let's see what others chime in.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jonathan. I like the comp (I don't mind the distance between flower and bud), sharpness, and background, but the rather harsh light is not my favorite. A reflector might make an improvement, but use of a diffusion screen between sun and flower would make a substantial difference, IMO. :S3: You might also try blending in the dark LLC to better match the rest of the background.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks everyone, I must admit when I posted it I was quite content, but now you have given me some food for thought, it does seem on reflection perhaps a little stark.
I will bare in mind your comments for future submissions.

[Anita Bower]

This is one gorgeous Columbine! The distance between flower and bud is not a big issue for me. You did a lovely job getting a blurred bg. The dullness of the bg doesn't bother me--it helps the flower stand out. I think I would like to see the image rotated CW a bit. You can keep those interesting shadows that you like but make them a bit less harsh. Here is one quick example--I used Shadow/Highlights and levels. I think my version needs more pop--I was just working on softening the shadows. Thanks for sharing!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Anita - you have done a good job - I definitely regard it as an improvement - thanks for taking the time.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Jonathan, the columbine is lovely and I think the soft bg accentuates it's beauty. Anita's repost improved the lighting issue. It's a beautiful image.:S3:

[Ken Childs]

Hi Jon,

The op looks nice and Anita's repost takes it up a notch. I like the comp but I do agree with Roman that there's too much distance between the flower and the bud. With that simple stem and that BG, it shouldn't be too difficult to move the flower closer to the bud. Do that and add a small amount of canvas to the right side and you'll have a real winner, IMHO! :S3: