Heads Up

i don't know what it is but the depth of field makes this so interesting.

I know I have to give a constructive comment, effective composition??? for me it is.... Overburned? I have no idea! but I hope I can give you my congrats.... and also important that people who are not familiair with your work will now look into your portfolio, and that's for sure a gooooooooood thing, and I wanted to let you know I like this picture, not your best in my eyes, but that are my eyes, and thank god we all look different....so again I am happy this is choosen by Elf whoever that is

 

-with love Els

SECURITY - Every poppy grower is required, by law, to report to the police, any person acting suspiciously in or near a poppy crop.

This stern message is printed at the bottom of every Tasmanian Alkaloids wall calendar.

The business of growing Papaver Somniferum (and other varieties) for the production of selected alkaloids, is taken very seriously down here.

The fact that we have strict law enforcement protocols in place and have three modern poppy processing plants in operation, explains part of the reason why controlled legal poppy growing in Afghanistan will not succeed in the foreseeable future. Especially if you are mindful of the fact that illegal crops fetch much higher prices in that country.

As I indicated in an earlier response, it is important (to me) that everyone who has viewed the image above and has read these words, realize how very privileged I was to get in amongst these crops and record the various stages of growth and subsequent harvest.

The image above was obtained at one of the earliest opportunities of venturing into a commercial crop of Papaver Somniferum. I had literally, never before, had the chance to record this kind of subject matter and first impressions were somewhat overwhelming. At the same time, though, I quickly found an appreciation for the 'capsule stage' in the growing process. A poppy paddock in flower can be very pretty indeed, but when you get really close, the individual petals make most photographs rather 'busy'. Even more so, than the one above.

I have attached an eye level view of this particular field, in the hope of providing some kind of indication of how chaotic these plants can appear to be, en masse. This, mainly, in relation to their varying heights.

The shot above was taken hand held, with a Canon 20D and the EF-S 10-22mm lens, at the widest end. I normally work with a tripod, but that was not practicable on this occasion. Finding a grouping that might present some visual interest was quite challenging, especially with the varying heights of the capsules and a breeze that was picking up in strength.

What you see above is what I settled on. It is one of only two close-up shots.

Trying to record the overwhelming chaos of poppy heads in this crazy composition was intentional.

I deliberately burnt the underlying foliage in Photoshop to make the heads stand out in the way that they do above. I'm not one who generally makes many changes (in PS) to what I actually record. However, I have to say that I quite like what Doug has done with his Snipped Version, above. It provides some visual breathing space and improves the overall aesthetics.

Willie the Cropper might be interested to know that this is a crop from the original frame. I also enjoyed reading the term 'gravidity'. This was indeed one of the most vigorous crops that I have come across thus far, with some plants growing as high as five feet and relatively large capsules (for this particular variety).

A rare opportunity to legally get inside the poppy fields! I personally engage more with your other two close-up pictures from within the poppy fields. Even though they both feature intense hues, they don't seem as hyper-coloured as this image. The interstitial burn is disconcertingly deep. I would also support retention of the lesser heads for a more subtle, though arguably less impactful image. Congratulations!

I hear some of the comments about the eye darting all over the picture, and this may be true. But as long as your eye stays within the frame of the image what can be wrong with this?

 

I find myself looking at it from the top and flowing down into it. Then the three sharpest poppies kind of compete for my attention, with the upper most one holding its own against the two that gang up and try to pull me away. In any case none of this is a bad thing. Because what you are looking at are three significant examples of a poppy.

 

Even what lies in the background is a sort of supporting cast, each of them playing their own unique role.

 

To me this is a fine example of composition of a well-placed grouping of poppies. If you've ever seen a poppy field this is exactly how they grow.

The picture is stunning. The only (little) thing that bothers me (you might think I'm totally nuts) is the composition. Yes, to me it's not

entirely satisfactory because of the large empty zone at the top right corner of the picture. What do you all think about this?? Do you think

it would be worth cropping the picture a bit , maybe sacrificing some of the out of focus poppies ?? I'd love to hear arguments against and

in favour of cropping. Thanks

 

anyway many compliments Peter!!!

The burnt effect really makes poppies to pop up. But burning the background foliage too much has brought the noise, a lot of noise. I wouldn't crop anything, because it gives some space to breath and poppies are enhanced good. My eyes are stopped on 1, 2, 6, 7, 8. They are focused good and enhanced. The blurred poppies became as a part of dark foliage and it makes nice gradation. The noise is the only thing that technically has ruined the photo. I think that with less burning the photo would be aesthetically better, still keeping the breathing space around.

How did you get there at all?!

How did you get there at all?!

I'm sorry, Kristina, I don't follow. Get where? To this location, or arrive at this (image) end result?

By this stage, I am quite happy to share a few thoughts on the matter of post processing. In my case, it is very much a work in progress. This shot was originally recorded and processed in December 2006. Since then, as my post processing ability has (slightly) improved, I have re-worked it several times.

After posting this image in my photo.net portfolio in December 2007 and receiving all the comments above, I have once more returned to the original RAW file. Guess what? I don't think there is anything much that I want to change about the composition (or lack thereof). Any further cropping is definitely not an option, so I have to agree with Bill Tate on that account.

However, I now do know how to selectively tone down parts of the image (yes, I really am not that good with Photoshop, yet). To obtain this result, it is possibly even better to work with some kind of layer mask, rather than (badly) burn it. No doubt, I will discover how to do that in time to come.

For now, I have arrived at my current final version. And this is exactly what photo.net has been all about during the last five+ years, or so. This is a terrific learning (self-improvement) site and with all of your help, I continue to improve my skills and appreciation for the finer details of crafting good images.

I also fancy a mono-toned version. Just in case anyone might suggest that option...

Congratulations Peter. By toning down those out of focus pods, you present a photograph with excellent composition. I take back any of those things I stated above indicating displeasure with this image. You did very well, I think, in bringing a so-so photograph to a state of excellence. I am no expert, though I like to critique these POWs, and sometimes I get carried away with my comments. At any rate, for what its worth, I now think this photo is up to the standards you set with your beautiful landscapes.

 

Willie the Cropper

Thanks, Bill. But I just realised that there was still something else that continued to bug me...

See if you can (easily) spot the difference in this final final version...

Side by side comparison...

Nice Job, Pete, the side by side comparison is fascinating. The June version answers most of the critics without overly digitizing the original capture.

Fine composition. Wonderful color. Beautiful image of a subject of great benefit (relief of pan) and o potential harm (addiction) to man.

Yeah, Peter. I no longer see the stem in lower center of the image. Thought you had me, huh? Now that you fixed that, I'd stop messing with it. It's perfect.

 

Willie the Cropper

I asked how did you get to this place at all?

 

I don't know whether is noise due to low resolution or burning. But I'd like to see the original raw file. Would you like to post it?

The non-cropped version is better.

I personally like the strong contrast created by the burning work. The photo is all about the poppy heads, which have an almost alien appearance (at least to me). I find this a very useful application of an ultra-wide angle perspective. Having said that, I think there might have been better ways to create the image. A more natural appearance might have been achieved by using angled white reflectors to cast a bit more light on the heads and not on the underlying foliage. Of course that would have required an assistant, and I appreciate the difficulties with gaining access for another person to such a DEADLY area! ;-) I personally don't think both the shallow depth of field AND the burning were necessary. Personally, I would have used a smaller aperture to extend the DoF down to the ground, which I think would only add to the wide perspective effect. Then the burning work could be done first to darken all of the foliage relative to the heads and then to darken both foliage and heads together, depending on height (i.e. keeping the highest items the lightest and the lowest items the darkest. Smaller heads, located deeper down, should be darker. I think that's what makes the photo not *quite* work for me: All of the heads are too much the same lightness.

 

Having said all that, I really do love the photo, even as it is.

I really like this,I think the initial attraction is the complimentary yellow and blue and then the novelty of the subject matter and as stated the composition compels the eye to stay within the frame,I'd love to have taken it.I would not have believed how much difference removing the stem makes,regards

Pete, Belated congrats on POW. About time too. All the analysis has been done by everyone else so there is not much I can add. The final version really pops. Sometimes one works at a shot for a long time and the end result can be worse than the original but in this instance the evolutionary process has been spot on.

Beautiful job Pete. The evolution of the image is stunning. What technique did you use for the aspect ratio change from the December to June image?

very nice composition, I love the colors here.

Nice contrasting colors, shapes and textures.

Caspar Knox