A Water Lily from Yesterday

[John Storjohann]

A water lily from my shoot at the Missouri Botanicals yesterday. What began has a harshly lit day ended up having this beautifully diffuse light from cloud cover. Uncropped image shot at 400mm, f/32@1/40. RAW image processed in LR; cloned out a few bugs on the pads and some specular highlights on the water. I also darkened some of the underwater elements of the plant; I didn't remove them all together as I thought they were integral to the image, but I'm open to the conversation! :S3:

[Jay Sheinfield]

John, I looked at the same lily and didn't see this!:S3: I like this a lot. Beautiful framing. The grouping of lily pads flow nicely to the flower. I might consider evicting the two lines to the left of the flower, mostly because the petal tips point to them. But, it's no deal breaker. Terrific as is. Great eye on this.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey John,
Yep......another terrific one! I do like the way the pads frame the water lilly.....but I do think this would also work with the LL pad eliminated......although not sure you are OK with such stuff. Just an option for you to try out for comparison as I think the OP is very well done!

[Bob Miller]

John....I think this is my favorite of your series! Loving the composition and reflection. I like the lower lily pad myself but agree with Roman that it also works without it!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi John. You're on a roll here with these water lily images. I love the comp on this one and the perfect reflection of the flower is a very nice element adding interest to the image. I also like the hints of green in the water - it looks more natural than solid black. I would agree with Jay about maybe removing the two lines to the left of the flower, but that's a minor point. Very well done!

[John Storjohann]

Thank you for the comments and suggestions...I may try removing the LL pad as Roman suggested...the two overlap though, and I'm not sure I'm "there" yet with my cloning skills! I'll also try my hand and removing the two underwater stalks...

Hopefully I won't drive everyone nuts with the lilies and the lotus...two of my favorite subjects to shoot...this fall, as time allows, I hope to diversify a bit.

[Julie Kenward]

For me, the lily gets a standing ovation but that lower right pad with the black inkspot in the center isn't working for me. I can see why you chose this crop but for a print, I'd cut off the bottom two pads and go horizontal with just the top half of the image. It's absolutely stunning!

[christopher galeski]

Beautiful image,love the reflections,good detail in the whites,like the black water.well done.

[John Storjohann]

I removed the two underwater elements on the left...still on the fence as to which I like better! Julie, I'm playing with various crops, but haven't found one I like as well as the original yet..but I agree, I do wish that one pad had been hosed down a bit first! :w3 Thank you for the comments and suggestions!

[Adrian David]

I like this one as presented! Nice framing, and beautiful natural colors.Nicely done!