up towards the sky

Stanislav, really like your flower and sits on very nice b/g. i think there is too much stem here, a suggestion would be to try a crop a inch or so below the stem that juts out to the left with bud on end. i think that gives a better balance to your image, and also gets rid of the uninteresting part of the stem. so nice seeing you posting again!

Roger,  it's always a joy to read your comments. Cropping just above the bud seems just the right thing to do. The only thing that concerns me is that in such a crop the dark part on the left would become more prominent and disturbing. in the current setup, it is better connected to the rest. Still, that seems to be a good option.

Now that you mention the tighter crop I also see a second image- much less from below and wider, giving more prominence to the sharp part of the branch and to the silhuette in the background.

So again you made me think, and that's always great. :-)

Warm regards, Stanislav

Stanislav, i had not noticed the crop above bud, that seems to work rather well also. the more i look at this image the more i find to like. i find the dark area in b/g really helps to create a somber mood, also really like all the turns and twists in stem. this image for me suggest that spring is in the air, but winter is not yet forgotten. a image you could spend hours playing with.

cheers, roger

with nice composition and shadows...br Hannu

Hannu- thanks!

Roger- ok, now I see that we were talking about different buds all the time. Now I understand your initial suggestion, and I do like that one a lot. That are the discussions that I have really missed! 

Actually, I took the image when not many flowers were out, so you are perfectly right with your description.

Warm regards, Stanislav

like a traditional japanese painting. very elegant, very delicate.

excellent, stanislav.