Untitled

creatures of light flutter away from barbed wire branches 

This is a  marvel, of you as a photographer,and nature creation. B/W is  a real nice PP.

The freshness of spring sings aloud amidst the ashes of winter, a lovely delicate touch! 

Compliments & Best Regards 

Alf 

The contrasts and softness of the background (without it really being out of focus) work nicely here. The contrasts are evocative and don't really give a "high contrast" feel but rather provide an atmosphere or mood. The soft background has much more depth and effect done the way you've chosen as opposed to the more typical choice of making it much more out of focus, which often works to destroy the depth, presence, and naturalness of a scene. The overall tangle is a metaphor, ambiguous but there.

Your tones are always so beautiful, Marjolein, as is the way you so judiciously use depth of field.  Together, they "draw" your subjects in a magical way.  This potentially chaotic scene, with all of those twigs and flowers lying in different planes, is not cluttered or confused at all.  I love the way the 4 main flowers stand out against the blurred background and the way their carefully controlled whites almost glow against the softer, greyer tones of the other flowers.  The other thing I appreciate so much about your images is the way they have such a "realness" about them.  Tiny "imperfections" aren't cloned away; things aren't always perfectly squared off or lined up (except, here, the important main trunk of the plant); everything isn't plasticky smooth and painfully sharpened.  So much work I see these days seems to aim to be technically flawless but, in doing so, becomes utterly devoid of life, emotion and authenticity.  Your images, on the other hand, create worlds  and tell stories that I want to immerse myself in and that I can visit again and again and still find something new to enjoy when I do.  Anyone who takes the time to really look at your images can't help but learn something and be inspired.

so soft, so strong... ;-} dp

Well done!

Regards,

Mário

Love it, the delicate strength of a fine Asian composition...  Mike

Carlos, Pnina, Alf, Fred, Elisabeth, Donna, Mário, and Mike,

Thank you all for your insightful impressions.

I was somewhat taken aback by the number of comments,

as I only put these pics up yesterday & am not that often on PN these days..

Quite humbled by the response, and very much enjoyed reading your various thoughts and interpretations.

I'm particularly glad that the mood I wanted to convey with this seems to be coming through for you.

somehow I missed your latest posts (well, almost a month old) - imaginative and poetic photos!

Each spring I'm fascinated by the equally short and beautiful blossom of the Magnolias. So far, I haven't found yet an appropriate approach to photographing them (though the medium - capturing and instant in time - would be very appropriate to the short-lived beauty).

You've succeeded here very well - I love the centered, calm composition (the central vertical branch provides a sense of order in the clutter of the all the twigs) and how the central blossom is surrounded by companions in different states of their lives.

Thanks, Wolfgang. A (Japanese) magnolia indeed.

As the flowers bloom for such a short period, I tried capturing it in a simple & direct way, yet with a sense of the ephemeral...