petals of marigold

To improve (I try to leave a few of these for everybody): size communication, the flower is seen so close that I had a little difficulty in determining what it was; if there had been an ant on the flower, or if there had been a little more background information, I might have known better. The petals in this photo form such a bold, golden abstract shape collection that, if it hadn't been for the title, I might have thought this was an underwater picture of some kind of undersea plant or something.

To sustain: good lighting plan. It's obvious that you invested in some basic planning in the setup of this photograph. Quality work there, with a good array of tones and hues to illustrate form. The curved shapes of the individual blossom petals came out really well; rarely well. Not afraid to show some black, which I think is good.

Good, long depth of field; all significant areas of the flower are in focus enough, which can be harder with some closeups.

Good originality. I think that a lot of times when I see this kind of flower pictured, there's not as much attention to showing the form of the individual petals. This one stands out in the way you've chosen to sensitively treat those petals as a subject. Much higher marks for originality than I would have given to a typical marigold photo.

Good job. J.

Wow! That's what I call a critique and a half! I really appreciate your input and time.

The only comment I might add is that one of the attractions of macro photos is that they reveal what the naked eye normally would not see. Hence, the detailed title, so that one would know what one was viewing.

Thanks again, what a resource you are.

Greg