Colorado: Columbine Studio Shot

Very nice tone and color.

But it's cropped so dead center.

I can't hope but think a little asymmetry would yield an even nicer image.

Miles: I considered doing it more off center but the actual flower itself is so asymmetrical that I hoped to get away with it. You caught me, however! I am now loathe to change it since it is my (sob) highest-rated image. I would never have thought for a moment that a posed studio shot with artificial dew would do better than the natural shots I hiked for hours to obtain. Oh well, maybe I'll switch to the "fine arts" section. Naaaaahh! I sold all my studio strobes and cameras, and my 4x5 so it's too late! Thanks for your thoughtful comments and though I make light of my own foibles, my intention is not to put down your ideas. I do and I will take your input quite seriously. Thanks again.

Fred, generally I would say get it out of center as a general rule, but your subject in this photo (being cropped to a square), works nicely in this composition. It's an excellent image.

Fred if you're happy with it as it sits that's good.

 

But if you try it slightly off center and in a direct A/B you like it better resubmit as a second image and see what everyone else thinks.

 

I go through 2 or 3 iterations on most of my images. I ask my wife for input and tweek some.

By the time you see it here or I put it up for sale it's generally in it's 3d incarnation. I feel images are works in progress.

 

Ansel Adams most famous image is Moonrise at Hernandez. He had a lousy negative to work with and struggled with it for 6 months before he got it to the point you see in print. I guess at times he felt it would never get there.

 

Today some people think you produce great images by pointing and shooting. I believe this is rarely true. A great image can have a very long gestation period indeed! :-)

Take your money or take your choice! I don't suppose anyone is motivated enough to vote on this but if so, vote away! Which cropping is it? We'll call the top center image #1 and go clockwise from there. The central image is, of course, the original cropping.

I like the upper left cropping the best.

Let the poll begin. :-)

If there is any clear winner I will be glad to do my part by replacing the present image. Howzzat?

Have fun... I don't mind. It isn't gospel by any means.

Good exposure Fred. Do you remember how you metered this shot. Dark purple and nearly white petals make this a difficult shot to take. You did very well.

Jay: This was shot in the studio and I did it with a Sinar F and Speedotron strobes so I probably used incident flash metering and a few Polaroids before shooting a full set of brackets shots. It's an interesting shot in that I just printed it yesterday for my wife to hang on the wall and I fiddled with the purple hue for a very long time to get it where she wanted it. This is obviously not a wild columbine as they tend to be much more pastel blue in color. The purple ones are all hybrids cultivated in greenhouses.

Very nice. I vote for this because the symmatry makes this a rule breaker. Consider a trick I learned from a very talented flower photographer who did most of his work in the studio. Instead of a black background, he used a very dark green satin or velvet cloth. The diffused green sheen made one believe that they were seeing leaves out of focus.