Hi Allan ... I really like the flower ...I think the fact that its white, it makes it fit the theme better. You've just manged to hang on to the perfect shape of the flower against the white background ...well done with that, and you've kept the center nice and bright, not sure how you did that.but very nice it is.
Thanks Susie
Catch up time........
Skill - Definitely takes skill to make these given how old they are. I feel the green is a little too green on this one. Maybe picked up during processing?
Half - What a cracking shot for the theme. The detail in the poppy head is super. How easy are they to cut in two? I like the other two shots as well. Nice bokeh
Architectural - That's a very classic Chester scene. It must be years since I've been but I still remember the architecture in the city. A big thumbs up for spending the time making sure you where taking it straight down the middle. Super symmetry.
Promise - I would normally say the texture should just be applied to the background but in this case it really works as it's made the hand and arm look like an old granite statue. It adds to the juxtaposition which I like between the roughness and the clean white heart
Sharp - #2 for me. The white background really suits the spikes of the cactus. That image would make a stunning print on the wall.
Pure - #1 is another candidate for the wall. Super whites with the subtly of petal blending into background being sublime. Super job.
Skill is slightly over saturated maybe, can't remember what I did PP wise
Half not easy to cut as it was dry and quite brittle would have been better to cut it when fresh really
thanks for the nice comments about sharp and pure, i have never used any pictures for the wall, I am to critical of what i do.
Hi Allan... two good captures for Pure. I certainly prefer the first as it feels more on theme for me. I'm a bit confused by the slight negative vignette on the background - is that a result of post production tweaks or was there genuinely light leaking into the picture (not the camera!) from the corners? Perhaps it's just my eyes?! Good crisp detail on the flower - nicely done. Placement is interesting - I can almost sense you were umming and ahhing a bit about that. Your composition works for me, even though I actually think even more white space could also work - perhaps pushing the flower into just a quarter or less of the "canvas".
I'm less convinced by the barley TBH - I find the dynamic range and contrast has just been pushed a touch too far for me - super whites on the highlights and the almost "drawn" effect of the processing. It's interesting but not conveying the theme as strongly for me.
For me, the only thing the pictures are lacking - and this is not criticism - is contrast. Obviously not the technical (dynamic range) sort, but something impure to stand alongside the purity and therefore highlight it even further. Just because there isn't this contrast doesn't mean the pictures don't work (because they do) but it might strengthen them even further? I think it applies to quite a few pictures we see for this theme, not just yours so I probably should mention it every time to be fair!
Hi Paul thanks for the crit, the negative vignette was a mistake, in my defence I took the plunge and subscribed to Photoshop cc and Lightroom about a week or so ago so I was playing with sliders and forgot to put it back,
I had been looking at it for a while and had become blind to it I suppose, I noticed it for the first time this morning on my phone, have fixed it now I think.
Your comments on contrast are interesting, I never put much explanation with my pics, but to me the purity lies with the flower (a natural thing) and also the whiteness (always seen as a sign of purity) of the image.
I think the problem with adding something else to the image (not just this one) would be will anybody get the pure theme or read it another way.
Thanks again, now you have me thinking about it, always a good thing
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Pennisetum by allanhowe, on Flickr
Fall apart by allanhowe, on Flickr
Osteospermum
B
