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Thread: Dragonfly on Water Lily

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    Default Dragonfly on Water Lily

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    Shot during a short shoot at the local Botanical yesterday. 100-400 lens @ 310mm; f/16@1/125. Processed the RAW file in LR; cropped from the top a bit to tighten the composition...some light processing in PS for tone and color.

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    very pretty nice control of the whites

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    Julie Kenward
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    John, another very interesting water lily image you have here. I appreciate the beauty of the vertical composition but wonder if a horizontal might feel a little less crowded? There's a lot to go on here and even though the flower is the lightest focal point in the image I find my eye going back and forth between the different elements. Maybe a less tight crop would help that?

    Also, I think your whites are nice but I bet you could bring so much more out with a little dodging here and there - really play up the shadows and highlights a bit more to add even more drama to this scene.

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    Roman Kurywczak
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    Hey John,
    Just back from my Tanzania tour so catching up! I think Jules made some good points on tweaking the whites but I like the vert comp.....although agree with more rrom perhaps.....just a touch. I know how big the pads are so comp wise.....I think this balances well. Now for the DF......as it is minimal in the frame.....i'd vote for eviction. If the light was stronger on it....maybe a keeper but given it's size and the light on it, I would probably remove it unless a few PP'ing tweaks can bring it up a notch. Just some thoughts to a very well composed image and excellent control of the lighting!

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    BPN Member Steve Maxson's Avatar
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    Hi John. It looks like you're having a lot of fun working these water lilies! I like the vertical comp here and the details in the whites - though Jules' suggestion would be worth exploring. When I line up the petals with their reflections, it appears the image could use some CW rotation - though this will only work if you have enough room all around to recompose after the rotation (and it's a relatively minor point). Though it pains me to say this, being a bug guy, I agree with Roman about evicting the damselfly - it's small enough and far enough in the background that it's not really adding anything to the image. On the whole, this is very nicely done!

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    Thank you for your comments and suggestions. Julie, I did a bit of dodging and burning in the image...still debating if I was successful or not. I like the serene, subtle mood of the original, but the dodge and burn does help the eye travel through the image...I'm interested in hearing your feedback about the repost. Roman, good to have you back...hope you had a great trip..and that your family and friends rode out Irene without difficulty. You and Steve are killing me over the damselfly......after waiting several minutes for him to leave, I grew kind of fond of the little guy and left him in the initial image. I've evicted the little guy in the repost. Steve, you're right..I'm enjoying the water lilies...I've always been drawn to water lilies and lotus as subjects...I hope I'm not burning people out with them!

    Julie, you're right...it is a tight composition, something I tend toward...and in this instance I would have liked to have had more breathing room. My issue was that I had one of the large Chihuly glass bulbs floating JUST to the left...and the reflection of one of the large stone columns in the pool to the right. It was like peering through a thin window for composition. If you've never been....you can see the pool and the "Walla Wallas" floating in the pool at http://www.mobot.org/chihuly/Chi_donations.asp ...the lilies aren't growing yet in that image, but it gives you an idea of the center pool where the Giant Amazon Lilies are. Now if they'd let me WADE that center pool....

    Thanks again for the comments and suggestions. I hope the repost does them some justice.

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    Julie, after posting...and reading again...I realized that my comments above could come off as defensive or as an excuse for the composition...and that isn't my intent. I truly appreciate the time and effort everyone takes to critique, and even our vision diverges it helps me learn..it broadens my vision, and makes me take another look the next time in the field. I was hoping just to explain the conditions, and I hope it didn't come across poorly. Thanks again!

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    John...I like your repost and please don't stop with the water lilies...I am enjoying each and every one of them and often learn from your notes.

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    No worries, Bob...I doubt I could make myself pull away from water lilies all together!...I just don't want to burn people out on them. Thank you for your comments...really liked your caterpillar post!

  10. #10
    Roman Kurywczak
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    Hey John,
    Repost works for me! Nice job tweaking with the suggestions! I'm fine if you keep the lillies coming too!

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    Roman, thank YOU, Steve, and Julie - so many of the folks here - for the suggestions...spot on! I'll keep shooting lilies...I think I could shoot them 12 months a year and still find ways that that would evoke some response from me...but I also need to get behind the camera with another focus in mind to keep fresh...I'm just not sure where that's going to lead me yet! Take care.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    I like the repost a lot and your comp is interesting as well. I would actually like a bit more Vertical, the water texture behind the flower is really nice
    and a bit more would look good.
    Dan Kearl

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