wood

In northern California, this region would be completely covered in

green grass. Such drastic climate changes are not uncommon in the

past, but the number of significant changes worldwide, and the rate of

change over many years, can no longer be ignored. Comments on this

photo, technical or otherwise, are welcome.

I disagree with the critique on the hot leaf.  I think the high contrast is very effective.  This is the sort of image I enjoy and it is very well done.  A beautiful natural abstract.

Perhaps you intended this as an impressionistic style image, but the fact that only the upper right is in focus does not fit with the remainder of the image.  Maybe if all of the frame were out of focus then the impressionistic effect would work.  My preference is to have the flower in the foreground be in sharp focus and the background not.

I agree with the positive comments given above but feel the image would have been even more effective if her face were wholly or partially visible (not always possible in street photography).  That being said, this is still a photo with impact and implies a story which results in an effective and moving photograph. 

You have effectively captured the face profile in the rock outcrop, but have also included much more that does not add to the photo.  I would look at doing some creative cropping to eliminate much of the surrounding rocks/sky to help focus attention on the face. 

Thanks for your compliments on this photo.  This is one of my favorites for fall color and leaves.

Christal,

The contrast of textures was what motivated me to make this photo.  I'm very glad you could appreciate this.

Christal & Alf,

Thanks so much for your comments.  Just the type of considered comments I was looking for.

As an HDR processed image, is this overdone? Could it be more natural

looking? Thanks,

Thank you, Laurent and Patrick, for your considered reviews of this photograph.

Thanks to all of you for your comments, which are most helpful.

Thanks you both for your comments and suggestions.  Greatly appreciated.

Wow, nicely done.  The symmetry works well and the zooming was done perfectly.  I especially like the color vs. B&W contrast.

Thanks for the helpful and insightful critique. 

Aside from the technical and creative excellence that went into this photo, any image that successfully incorporates humor, whether in-your-face or more subtle, is quite an accomplishment.

Thanks for the honest comments.  Exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks for your thoughtful critique.  I'm am glad you prefer the undersaturated color, as do I.  I have tried this approach on another of my flower shots but my initial results seem to display a distracting level of saturation in the color area.  I am going to rework that one.  Thanks again,

Thanks for the feedback and the compliment.

Thanks for your comments - especially appreciated with the personal message.

Thanks for your comment.