Climatis, as seen through some bushes in my parent's garden. Pentax ZX-5n, Pentax FA 80-320, @300, wide open. More pictures from the garden at http://www.bigadventures.com/photo/garden.

-- Steve Leroux (steve@bigadventures.com), July 15, 1998

Answers

I really like the composition. Simple, nice. It's too bad that the bud in the middle is slightly blurred by the out of focus leaf BUT it's not a big thing :). I sense a slight blue cast on the flowers ( or is it the adjustment on my monitor ?). Again, very nice and love the sharpness (I think I'll just pick that flower out and take it home)!

-- Paul Lenson (lenson@pci.on.ca), July 15, 1998.

Personally I don't like the composition, and overall I think that it leaves the image lacking something. It seems more like you just walked through, and just randomly fired the shutter. I think that I feel that way because of the face that the buds at the bottom are obscured by the foreground leaves, and the closed buds seem to be the "center of attention" and what my eyes are drawn to, but then they are distracted by the open buds just below them. I think if you'd have moved slightly higher, this image would work, for me....but thats just my humble opinion....A valiant effort anyway though, the idea certainly is a good one!

-- Jason Fobart (jfobart@usa.net), July 15, 1998.

Steve

IMHO, you almost have a nice picture. Both the flower and the buds are partially blocked by the out of focus foliage in the foreground. You can't see all the flower on the bottom or all the buds on top.

The flower petals in front are very sharp, but a little out of focus on the right? The flower in the background creates a white blob to me, especially with the foliage and the out of focus bud. But then you said you shot it wide open.

With a little more DOF and the foreground foliage out of the way, I think it would have been a very nice photo. Your web photos of these flowers, except this one, are much better.

-- George Chambers (gwill1000@brooksdata.net), July 15, 1998.

This just came to mind. You didn't say, but it looks like you may have used a center spot filter, did you?

-- George Chambers (gwill1000@brooksdata.net), July 15, 1998.

No, I didn't use a center-spot filter.

I wonder if anyone thinks the composition would be improved by cropping away some of the green foliage. Here is an example. The cropped version makes the out of focus leaf covering the tip of the second bud more prominent, but I think overall I might prefer the cropping.

-- Steve Leroux (steve@bigadventures.com), July 15, 1998.

If the buds are the subject, they are too small and partly obscured. If they are not the subject, what is?

Frank

-- Frank Kolwicz (bb389@lafn.org), July 15, 1998.

Steve,

I like the image in a subliminal sort of way (that doesn't make sense). It breaks all the rules and looks very random, but maybe that's why I like it, I'm not entirely sure. I do like the "looking through the leaves effect, although I think it needs a more "defined" subject.

The repetition of the buds from foreground to background does draw the eyes to the second flower, and the fact that both the buds and the flowers are on a diagonal help, but it's a little confusing.

I think you'll find most photographers who "follow the rules" won't like it for the reasons I mentioned. However, it is interesting, and the "artist" in me likes it somewhat, even though it does break all the rules. As a commercial image I don't think it would succeed...a little too abstract maybe for most folks.

Just curious: you have some very strong, graphic images on your web site. Can I ask what prompted you to post this one?

Best Wishes,

Keith

-- Keith Clark (ClarkPhotography@spiritone.com), July 15, 1998.

Just found your cropped version. Nope. The bigger one is better, IMHO. :>

Keith

-- Keith Clark (ClarkPhotography@spiritone.com), July 15, 1998.

I chose this image because it conveys a mood, not because of its technical strengths. You get a sense of something beautiful and exciting happening, but there's also a sense of voyeurism -- that the viewer isn't supposed to be there, and is sneaking a peek at something forbidden. I like the separation between viewer and subject. There is beauty here, but it is not yours.

At least, I hope that's what the viewer is getting.

To me, photography and art are not synonymous. Take, for example, the orange tulip image that follows my submission. It is, technically, a wonderful shot. But it's also slightly boring (in it's technically perfect way) and I'd be hard-pressed to call it art. If you were to ask, "what is the artist trying to say with this image?" I'd answer, "Look: a tulip.".

Looking through National Geographic I'm occasionally amazed at the lack of technical perfection in the images they print. Fuzzy, obvious camera shake, bad grain, etc. But the images have value beyond their technical merits. They carry a mood or sense of place that transcends apertures and f-stops.

-- Steve Leroux (steve@bigadventures.com), July 16, 1998.

I'm left wanting to see the entirety of the flower. It's a neat idea--shooting through the leaves, but the full-bloomed pink flower in the lower-left center is too shrouded by leaves for my taste.

-- James Tarquin (tarquin@erols.com), July 16, 1998.

I like the feeling of "peeking through a keyhole", looking at a scene that I'm not supposed to be a part of. It's almost like the two buds are engaged in some secret conversation. My only criticism is I wish the second bud was not partly obscured. I like the effect of the blurred foreground framing the subject.

-- Guy Tal (guy@spyra.com), July 16, 1998.

Steve,

Well said. It's an intensely personal statement that the image makes. As I suggested, I feel it's beautiful and artistic even though it "breaks some rules". Thanks for sharing your vision and making us think. :>

Best Wishes,

Keith

-- Keith Clark (ClarkPhotography@spiritone.com), July 16, 1998.

Steve, I really love this picture exactly for the mood it conveys - the feeling of secrecy and beauty about to happen. Like you, I find the purely technical representations of flowers boring.

-- (andreas@physio.unr.edu), July 20, 1998.

beautiful, striking and complex

-- Tom Williams (image.araya@mailcity.com), September 06, 1998.