Native Plum trees blur

[Cheryl Slechta]

These are some native Chickasaw plum trees in my yard that still have some of their leaves. The native grasses have some color so I did a blur using the color of the grasses as part of the composition. I used Topaz Simplify to make it a little more abstract and then Nik Tonal Contrast but using the Color Blending mode to enhance the colors a bit.
f/25, 1 sec. ISO 100.
Thanks for looking. Comments and suggestions appreciated.:S3:

[John Storjohann]

Hi Cheryl;

I like the overall composition, but the bright blue blurs near the top constantly draw my eye there...I'd be tempted to either tone them down or evict them. The composition of line and color is Monet like...love the pastel quality...very impressionistic...I find myself wanting just a bit more to the left to off set the strong vertical line to the right of center just a bit more. Well done!

[Indranil Sircar]

Lovely composition, Cheryl. I like the impressionist look to it. Another vote to tone down the bright blues blurs on top of the image. Excellent processing.

[Dennis Bishop]

This is a great tree blur image, Cheryl. The blur is just right. I really like the distribution of colors, too, with the browns, grays, and blues layered throughout and the pinks nearer the bottom.

The next couple comments are in support of your artistic eye. When I first looked at the image, I anticipated that there would be comments pro and con about the blue at the top. My own subjective point of view is that I like it.

The location in the image of that closest tree trunk is supported by the divine proportion. The ratio of its distance from the left side to the total width of the image fits the golden ratio exactly. That's subjective, too, of course. But it's an artistic principle that goes back to the ancient Greeks.

[denise ippolito]

Cheryl, As soon as I saw the image the blue at the top caught my eye. I agree that it would have a nicer flow w/o it but I wouldn't crop it, I'd fill it. Nicely seen. I love the look of it.:S3:

[Jay Sheinfield]

Cheryl, This is very nice. Really like the bands of colors and the vertical wavy action. Here's another vote to fill the blue at the top. Very, very well done.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Thank you all for your comments. On my monitor the blue is very muted and I wanted to leave an impression of sky. I'll post an image with the blue painted over for comparison. Dennis, I did use a rule of thirds grid when I cropped for the composition:S3:

[Judy Howle]

Very nice colors in the image and the blur is just right. I don't mind the sky as is.

[Dennis Bishop]

Thank you all for your comments. On my monitor the blue is very muted and I wanted to leave an impression of sky. I'll post an image with the blue painted over for comparison. Dennis, I did use a rule of thirds grid when I cropped for the composition:S3:

It was so right I figured you'd planned it that way.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Cheryl, love it. Nice amount of blur...another vote for filling in the blues at the top edge of the comp. :S3:

[Maureen Allen]

Lovely blur, Cheryl. I like the bit of sky. I think it gives the image a little more depth.

[Mitch Carucci]

Soft and subtle. I visited Micanopy about 15 years ago. Don't know if it has changed, but it had a quiet peaceful feel. This photo does it for me.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Cheryl,
I too would vote for filling in the blue.....just seems to pull my eye up but overall....very nicely done!

[John Ippolito]

I think the image is just lovely in composition and color. Beautifully seen and created, Cheryl !!

I think the blue catches everyone's attention maybe because it it not just blue, but the only crisp edged area in the image.

[Cheryl Slechta]

John, I think you're right - I didn't mind the color but the edges are squarish - I can fix that easily enough. Thanks for commenting:S3:

[NathanBeaulne]

Love this blur Cheryl, the colours and the comp are really nice and agree with everyone on the blue areas at the top