Skull flowers

Gav. said:
Crit welcome as always,
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Its nice and colourful, but not really my thing tbh Gav.

I'm sure others will appreciate it though :)

edit :- Maybe it'd work better in B&W?
 
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I can see a great deal of care and thought went into this. It doesn't work as a photo for me and I'm not quite sure why, but never the less well done for trying. (y)
 
ancient_mariner said:
I can see a great deal of care and thought went into this. It doesn't work as a photo for me and I'm not quite sure why, but never the less well done for trying. (y)
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Thank you, Toni, really appreciate the honest feedback :)
 
Personally I like the original colour version better, it is making me think of a Mexican Day of the Dead decoration. As for the arrangement, I think there are too many types of flower particularly the small ones at the front that I don't think add anything but distraction.
 
zx9 said:
Personally I like the original colour version better, it is making me think of a Mexican Day of the Dead decoration. As for the arrangement, I think there are too many types of flower particularly the small ones at the front that I don't think add anything but distraction.
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Thank you, Keith, it does look like a day of the dead theme, thank you for feedback it's appreciated, I think you're right about the smaller flowers and I will think again about the flowers used (y)
 
I like the concept, but to me it doesn’t quite have a single centre of attention due to the skull, the flower in the eye and the large sunflower, not quite sure where I should be looking.
 
sk66 said:
I like the image and concept... but for me it's a little too bright/happy; it needs a bit more grit to it.

My take on it.
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Thank you, Steven, I did wonder if it was a little bright, thank you for the edit, really appreciate it (y) I've been tinkering with editing, but I'm on learning curve again still.. ;)

Would you mind me asking how you toned it like that, I can't seem to get my head around it :)
 
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Hi Gav - there's definitely something here worth persevering with in the shooting - I actually don't mind the bold colours in the first shot - definitely a Día de los Muertos vibe going on there...

I can't quite put my finger on it - I prefer the crop/layout in post 16, but the original colours - though I do think that the primary prop woud really benefit from a little "weathering" applying - make it look a little more like it's been hanging around for a few hundred years...

While I used skulls in loads of my still life stuff, I think I only dropped them in with flowers in a couple of cases...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/6292854742

cropped in on "eddie"
https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/8163542338

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/7097291997

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_big_yin/17861181558
 
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I love it, the original. The skull juxtaposed with the colour and vibrancy of the flowers is an eye catching concept. ' viva la difference ' ☠️
 
TheBigYin said:
Hi Gav - there's definitely something here worth persevering with in the shooting - I actually don't mind the bold colours in the first shot - definitely a Día de los Muertos vibe going on there...

I can't quite put my finger on it - I prefer the crop/layout in post 16, but the original colours - though I do think that the primary prop woud really benefit from a little "weathering" applying - make it look a little more like it's been hanging around for a few hundred years...
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Thank you, Mark, I will keep chipping away at this, I agree the skull is a little box fresh, I've been thinking it needs a bit of dirt or wood varish.

Thank you for the links, they are helpful, I do like the Bluebell image.

I did keep another edit like in post #16 before adding texture and playing with the colours, I'll post below.

Thank you for the feedback (y)

badlywornroy said:
I love it, the original. The skull juxtaposed with the colour and vibrancy of the flowers is an eye catching concept. ' viva la difference ' ☠️
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Thank you, much appreciated :)

steve_lyt said:
The original colour version , is the one I like. It catches the eye
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Thank you, Steve, cheers for the feedback (y)
 
Gav. said:
I agree the skull is a little box fresh, I've been thinking it needs a bit of dirt or wood varish.
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best idea with weathering is to use something that you can actually wash off... I mostly use watercolour paint - raw sienna, burnt umber and black in various combinations, very thin washes, and wipe it back off with a rag - that'll leave a loading in the cracks and crevices, of a more uneven nature than the "factory applied" finish - if you want it a little dusty try and get some fullers earth and put it in a bit of cloth tied up into a bag - as you dab the bag on, some of the fullers earth escapes between the fibres and onto the subject - just takes the sheen off the surface. Used that approach with the skull in the 4th photo I linked which is much more "distressed" than eddie...
 
TheBigYin said:
best idea with weathering is to use something that you can actually wash off... I mostly use watercolour paint - raw sienna, burnt umber and black in various combinations, very thin washes, and wipe it back off with a rag - that'll leave a loading in the cracks and crevices, of a more uneven nature than the "factory applied" finish - if you want it a little dusty try and get some fullers earth and put it in a bit of cloth tied up into a bag - as you dab the bag on, some of the fullers earth escapes between the fibres and onto the subject - just takes the sheen off the surface. Used that approach with the skull in the 4th photo I linked which is much more "distressed" than eddie...
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Thank you! I'll see what Em has kicking around when she's not looking :LOL:
 
to be honest, those colours are in pretty much any of the typical kids watercolour block paints - couple of quid from fleabay :)
 
:runaway:Skull has gone GREEN!!

Got home after work yesterday and Em agreed we should have a go at the skull, rubbed some dark colours to the grooves etc.. added some patches of dark colour tones by dabbing a sponge to the surface and wiped off, then the original coating took on a green tint.

Not sure what it's coated with, but I think a differant attack is needed :LOL:

Now.. Where's my wet'n'dry papers ...
 
My last edit on this one, I promise, I've removed the textures, kept the flower colours and had a play with the skulls colours a little.

Thank you all again the the crit & feedback :)


Final edit by Gavin Wickham, on Flickr
 
I don't often pop in here but I like the second iteration of the composition more than the first. The extra flowers to the right make it.(y)

You've also given me an idea. :)
 
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