Calla Lily

[pathfinder]

Here is an image I shot this weekend of a Calla Lily. I am most interested in critiques of composition and lighting, and overall level of interest in this image. Thank you.

http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/28659393-L.jpg

[pathfinder]

Here is an image I shot this weekend of a Calla Lily. I am most interested in critiques of composition and lighting, and overall level of interest in this image. Thank you.

http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/28659393-S.jpg
42 views and not one comment!! Aw, come on guys - is it that bad??:D If so. at least say so!:huh Poor subject, poor lighting, whatever?

[bfjr]

Morning PF and Sorry only excuse lots of new posts here and some fall through cracks I guess, at least for me. Heck I haven't even replied to all of my own!! :cry

Ok your shot (take all with large grain of salt)
It is fine, contrast great, exp great, comp great
To me it is a tad soft in the stem area??
It doesn't really excite me though in fact it makes me sad, just on a personal level every time I see these flowers can't help but think of folks I've laid to rest.

I hope that answers some questions and doesn't leave you confused :D
Sorry again you had to bump it.

[ginger_55]

No, it's not bad, it is a Cala Lily, I think I spelled that right. However, you should have gotten at least one hit, that is what I usually get with a landscape.

Only one post a week, as these things take so much time and attention. That was sarcasm.

I responded to Lynn's post. ONLY, and the post re a sunset in last time's challenge. Mostly I don't see things in my area of interest. Lynn's post, haha, I could criticise the heck out of it, it was her old style photography that I never appreciated.

And the other one, the sunset, well, I was the co judge on that Chal and I have learned that there are too many good photographs now, so whether or not a photo is a finalist is not a reflection of much of anything personal, nor objective. It was a good photograph.

I am trying to think of where I saw this, or another, Cala Lily. I am not into flowers much. And, particularly not classical type shots of flowers, which I would say this one is.

And, I would guess that it is a good example. That the people who are into these things don't have much to say.

And that is a reason I am not currently posting on this forum. If I really had a problem, I would be bumping my own shot to the top daily and complaining that I needed help. Some people get lots of attention, others don't. Some subjects get more attention than others.

I think your flower shot is a very good shot. I would guess that it is technically good, but not exciting, unless you were really into this stuff.

If I like a flower shot, it is very unique, the way the photographer has looked at it.

I think I have ranted a bit too much.

PF, you have helped me bunches. I really appreciate it. I refer people to you, as you are so good at expressing technical stuff to "me". I wish I could help you, I can't. I am not a flower person.

I can't think of who is, besides Rutt, and he isn't around. But there are some.
Why don't you post it, the same photo, on nature, and on cool shots. See if someone in one of those forums picks up on it. The trick is not that this place is really helpful, the trick is to get someone to look who is interested, helpful and experienced.

I would post it all over the place, where it could possibly fit, and let people know that you seriously want feedback.

ginger

[Angelo]

42 views and not one comment!! Aw, come on guys - is it that bad??:D If so. at least say so!:huh Poor subject, poor lighting, whatever?
Hey bud stop complaining... I had a recent post with 57 hits and no comments! :D

OK, my 2 cents worth: I think the Calla Lily is possibly the most photographed flower ever and frankly I've not seen any captures quite as nice as this one. Lighting, framing, shadow and dimension are all perfect IMHO.

[lynnma]

well I'm not sure I'm qualified to comment really..specially on your stuff path..
I think my impression was that it was lovely.. the colors are beautiful, the light is beautiful .. is it a tad soft? in the center? where my eyes want to stay?
lynn
Oh.. and the composition is lovely.:dunno well you did ask...:D

[Mitchell]

Nicely composed and exposed. What was your lighting setup for this shot. My only complaint (minor) is that I find the angular shadow on the left side a little distracting. Perhaps another light from beneath would soften this shadow.

The softness does not really bother me if this was your intention. I think any further sharpening would just make the shot look too clinical.

[pathfinder]

Morning PF and Sorry only excuse lots of new posts here and some fall through cracks I guess, at least for me. Heck I haven't even replied to all of my own!! :cry

Ok your shot (take all with large grain of salt)
It is fine, contrast great, exp great, comp great
To me it is a tad soft in the stem area??
It doesn't really excite me though in fact it makes me sad, just on a personal level every time I see these flowers can't help but think of folks I've laid to rest.

I hope that answers some questions and doesn't leave you confused :D
Sorry again you had to bump it.

I know how hard it is to respond to everyone, so I appreciate your taking the time to respond, Ben. I certainly am not able to respond to each of your images either. And I was not just looking for a pat on the noggin', but a serious responce and I think the sadness the image evoked in you IS a pertinent answer. Not one I had expected actually. But apt, on reflection.

My goal was to shoot a flower shot lit with two strobes and try to capture the delicate tonalities in roughly 3-1 lighting ratio. I picked the flower in my wife's garden, so funeralities did not really cross my mind. It was just a pretty flower to me , without emotional overtones. But I am in agreement that the subject may not intrigue everyone.
That was also part of my quest - to see if I could use a simple subject and lighting and composition to create viewer interest. I guess that the first 40 viewers, but non-responders, gave me my answer to that question.

I shot this at f25 with emphasis on the front curve of the flower and the delicate striations on the front of the petals. The softness in the lower stem was noted and accepted by me, as was the lower sharpness of the posterior petal with just barely visible details.
Evaluating image sharpness on the web can be tricky sometimes. Here is a 100% crop of the edge of the flower for closer examination. Still too soft or more acceptable?
http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/29152509-M.jpg

[pathfinder]

No, it's not bad, it is a Cala Lily, I think I spelled that right. However, you should have gotten at least one hit, that is what I usually get with a landscape.

Only one post a week, as these things take so much time and attention. That was sarcasm.

I responded to Lynn's post. ONLY, and the post re a sunset in last time's challenge. Mostly I don't see things in my area of interest. Lynn's post, haha, I could criticise the heck out of it, it was her old style photography that I never appreciated.

And the other one, the sunset, well, I was the co judge on that Chal and I have learned that there are too many good photographs now, so whether or not a photo is a finalist is not a reflection of much of anything personal, nor objective. It was a good photograph.

I am trying to think of where I saw this, or another, Cala Lily. I am not into flowers much. And, particularly not classical type shots of flowers, which I would say this one is.

And, I would guess that it is a good example. That the people who are into these things don't have much to say.

And that is a reason I am not currently posting on this forum. If I really had a problem, I would be bumping my own shot to the top daily and complaining that I needed help. Some people get lots of attention, others don't. Some subjects get more attention than others.

I think your flower shot is a very good shot. I would guess that it is technically good, but not exciting, unless you were really into this stuff.

If I like a flower shot, it is very unique, the way the photographer has looked at it.

I think I have ranted a bit too much.

PF, you have helped me bunches. I really appreciate it. I refer people to you, as you are so good at expressing technical stuff to "me". I wish I could help you, I can't. I am not a flower person.

I can't think of who is, besides Rutt, and he isn't around. But there are some.
Why don't you post it, the same photo, on nature, and on cool shots. See if someone in one of those forums picks up on it. The trick is not that this place is really helpful, the trick is to get someone to look who is interested, helpful and experienced.

I would post it all over the place, where it could possibly fit, and let people know that you seriously want feedback.

ginger


Thanks for responding Ginger. By now, I am sure you know that I have enterd this image as a B&W in the 43rd challenge for "Curves" Obviously, how folks respond to this image apparently depends to a great extent on whether they enjoy looking at flowers.
I was hoping to capture some attention from those who were not THAT entertained by flowers, but might find exploring the striations and tonality and curves of this image. Maybe it is not as pleasing for some folks as it is too me. :dunno I think for Curves, B&W may be an assett for this image.

[pathfinder]

Hey bud stop complaining... I had a recent post with 57 hits and no comments! :D

OK, my 2 cents worth: I think the Calla Lily is possibly the most photographed flower ever and frankly I've not seen any captures quite as nice as this one. Lighting, framing, shadow and dimension are all perfect IMHO.

Thanks Angelo. I think your answer is very helpful. As I stated, I had several distinct goals in mind - using dual electronic flash lighting to capture the delicate tonality showing the details of the petal surfaces. Hopefully this would be found interesting even to those who are not flower people. I seem to have succeeded in your case, even if not completely for Ginger.:D :huh As she said,she is not a flower person, and that is OK of course. Not sure that I am a "flower person: either. An interesting exploration.

Thanks again, Angelo. I'll try to respond to more of your images also, as I enjoy our discourses about photography.

[pathfinder]

well I'm not sure I'm qualified to comment really..specially on your stuff path..
I think my impression was that it was lovely.. the colors are beautiful, the light is beautiful .. is it a tad soft? in the center? where my eyes want to stay?
lynn
Oh.. and the composition is lovely.:dunno well you did ask...:D

Lynn, - you are certainly qualified to comment - a published photographer like yourslef - absolutely!! I have not had any nudes published whatsoever
:huh Darn it!! And while they were older women, they are my contemporaries:D

I am so glad that you like the composition - I gave some thought to how close to get to the right upper corner and finally decided that I liked the way this flower consumed the whole frame. My opinion only, of course.

Center of interest is not as defined as some images I agree - I hope the eye roams over the edges of the front petal and down toward the stem and into the right upper corner :dunno

As for softness - I posted a 100% crop for Ben, so you can be your own judge about that. It seems about as sharp as I desired it. 8x10 prints at reading distance - 14 inches or so - do not seem unsharp to me when examined under an Ott light.

[bfjr]

I know how hard it is to respond to everyone, so I appreciate your taking the time to respond, Ben. I certainly am not able to respond to each of your images either. And I was not just looking for a pat on the noggin', but a serious responce and I think the sadness the image evoked in you IS a pertinent answer. Not one I had expected actually. But apt, on reflection.

My goal was to shoot a flower shot lit with two strobes and try to capture the delicate tonalities in roughly 3-1 lighting ratio. I picked the flower in my wife's garden, so funeralities did not really cross my mind. It was just a pretty flower to me , without emotional overtones. But I am in agreement that the subject may not intrigue everyone.
That was also part of my quest - to see if I could use a simple subject and lighting and composition to create viewer interest. I guess that the first 40 viewers, but non-responders, gave me my answer to that question.

I shot this at f25 with emphasis on the front curve of the flower and the delicate striations on the front of the petals. The softness in the lower stem was noted and accepted by me, as was the lower sharpness of the posterior petal with just barely visible details.
Evaluating image sharpness on the web can be tricky sometimes. Here is a 100% crop of the edge of the flower for closer examination. Still too soft or more acceptable?

Whoa I guess it woke up :thumb
PF I thought about this off and on all day, and then I started to laugh. You know what one of my 1st posts here was, Geeeeeeeee ........ Calla Lily taken at the Al Jolson Memorial here in L. A. :D, by the way nobody liked It :rofl.

Yes I can see ever striation in the front petal and it is crisp there, well done

[pathfinder]

Nicely composed and exposed. What was your lighting setup for this shot. My only complaint (minor) is that I find the angular shadow on the left side a little distracting. Perhaps another light from beneath would soften this shadow.

The softness does not really bother me if this was your intention. I think any further sharpening would just make the shot look too clinical.

Thank you for your kind comments, Mitchell. The lighting was two electronic flashes - each one covered with a piece of white paper curved over the front surface of the flash unit to act as a 5x7 inch soft box. The flash on my right, higher and closer. The lighting ratio was between 4-1 and 8-1, adjusted by moving the flashes closer or farther from the subject to taste. It was shot with a Tamron 180mm macro at f25, 1/200th sec.

I noticed the shadow on the left and debated whether it was too distacting or not. Perhaps I canselect this area in PS and lighten it somewhat. Not sure that will really help though.
Since I knew I was taking this image on to B&W as a more contrasty image, I decided to leave the shadow as is for drama. The B&W is in the Challenge 43 submission thread. Thanks again Mitchell.

[pathfinder]

Whoa I guess it woke up :thumb
PF I thought about this off and on all day, and then I started to laugh. You know what one of my 1st posts here was, Geeeeeeeee ........ Calla Lily taken at the Al Jolson Memorial here in L. A. :D, by the way nobody liked It :rofl.

Yes I can see ever striation in the front petal and it is crisp there, well done


:D :D Thanks again Ben. Hopefully my image is not quite so sad any more :dunno :lol3 :lol3

[ginger_55]

Thanks Angelo. I think your answer is very helpful. As I stated, I had several distinct goals in mind - using dual electronic flash lighting to capture the delicate tonality showing the details of the petal surfaces. Hopefully this would be found interesting even to those who are not flower people. I seem to have succeeded in your case, even if not completely for Ginger.:D :huh As she said,she is not a flower person, and that is OK of course. Not sure that I am a "flower person: either. An interesting exploration.

Thanks again, Angelo. I'll try to respond to more of your images also, as I enjoy our discourses about photography.

If it helps, PF, I am in the same quandary, as I see it, with my egret photo. I posted it on the chal forum, got no responses, that with another egret shot, posted a slightly different version on the challenge. No responses, except somehow I did get two responses, finally, one for and one against.

You know when I finally got some interest, when I changed directions. People were like, "but what happened to your egret?", they liked that, after it disappeared.

But I have the feeling that there are a whole lot of people out there who could care less about egrets. Same as flowers. I thought the poppies would win the last challenge??? They didn't, not by a long shot.
I don't think my egret is going to be a big hit, but then again, would gears or something be better??? That I can't imagine. So, unless I get something accidentally, it is the egret.

And I think the lily is just about the same situation........
Oh, I did not notice that your lily is soft, but then I understand that I should sharpen my egrets some more. If I do that, I am sure someone will say they are oversharpened, lol. And I should NR, do you know what NR is?

Sometimes I think when we are all busy, we just assume the "names" know what they are doing, and we let them do it. If it is good, we have nothing to say: people have said that to me before. That is one reason I suggested the nature thread, people are kind of committed to commenting there, even if it is good....................and if it isn't they still say "good" a lot: that is a joke.

I noticed last challenge that people were doing strange things to figure out what to enter. Not posting on the chal forum, but then their entry would show up, and I would recognize it from some far flung forum that I had commented on.

I knew that cala lily I had seen was black and white. You know, I never knew the name of that flower before. And it makes Ben sad, but all those flowers remind me that I still think about "IT" sometimes.

Smile,
good luck,
ginger

[pathfinder]

If it helps, PF, I am in the same quandary, as I see it, with my egret photo. I posted it on the chal forum, got no responses, that with another egret shot, posted a slightly different version on the challenge. No responses, except somehow I did get two responses, finally, one for and one against.
..............

I don't think my egret is going to be a big hit, but then again, would gears or something be better??? That I can't imagine. So, unless I get something accidentally, it is the egret.

And I think the lily is just about the same situation........
Oh, I did not notice that your lily is soft, but then I understand that I should sharpen my egrets some more. If I do that, I am sure someone will say they are oversharpened, lol. And I should NR, do you know what NR is?

Sometimes I think when we are all busy, we just assume the "names" know what they are doing, and we let them do it. If it is good, we have nothing to say: people have said that to me before. That is one reason I suggested the nature thread, people are kind of committed to commenting there, even if it is good....................and if it isn't they still say "good" a lot: that is a joke.

I noticed last challenge that people were doing strange things to figure out what to enter. Not posting on the chal forum, but then their entry would show up, and I would recognize it from some far flung forum that I had commented on.

I knew that cala lily I had seen was black and white. You know, I never knew the name of that flower before. And it makes Ben sad, but all those flowers remind me that I still think about "IT" sometimes.

Smile,
good luck,
ginger


Actually, Ginger, I liked the shot of the rusty gear on Challenge 43 quite a bit.
.............................

NR is Noise Reduction, or course - Neat Image or Noise Ninja or GEM or whatever is your choice. :):

I posted my image of the lily here to see if I could obtain constructive advice to improve my image or to make it more pleasing to other viewers. I appreciate your comments, as well as those of Lynn, Ben, Angelo and Mitchell. Thanks again all!

:thumb

[tmlphoto]

Hey Path, just noticing this thread tonight. I like the shot. I do like these simple flower pics with the black background. Your positioning of the flower and the composition are spot on. I like the texture that the lighting brings out. The shodows that Mitchell mentioned were only really noticed after my look around the image for technical issues. They didn't bother me at all on my first look at the image & I think that they are just fine. They have been softned by your second light nicely. Overall I really like this shot alot. To me the simplicity of the flower and the nice curves are what make these flowers an attractive subject. I always like to try a b&w conversion for these types of shots as well, but this certainly works great in color. It's a keeper if you ask me.

[pathfinder]

Hey Path, just noticing this thread tonight. I like the shot. I do like these simple flower pics with the black background. Your positioning of the flower and the composition are spot on. I like the texture that the lighting brings out. The shodows that Mitchell mentioned were only really noticed after my look around the image for technical issues. They didn't bother me at all on my first look at the image & I think that they are just fine. They have been softned by your second light nicely. Overall I really like this shot alot. To me the simplicity of the flower and the nice curves are what make these flowers an attractive subject. I always like to try a b&w conversion for these types of shots as well, but this certainly works great in color. It's a keeper if you ask me.


Thanks Thomas. Your comments about positioning and texture are very satisfying because that is exactly what I was hoping to accomplish. The simplicity of the curves was precisely what I was hoping to demonstrate. Thanks again, this answers quite a few questions for me :thumb

[ginger_55]

Your blk and white Cala Lily looks very nice on the chal, it is a beautiful shot.

The gears are quite striking, I like them, too.

ginger

[pathfinder]

Your blk and white Cala Lily looks very nice on the chal, it is a beautiful shot.

The gears are quite striking, I like them, too.

ginger

Bless your heart Ginger! Thank you. I bet you sweet talk all the guys
:lol3 :lol3 :lol3

[Mindy R]

Here is an image I shot this weekend of a Calla Lily. I am most interested in critiques of composition and lighting, and overall level of interest in this image. Thank you.

http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/28659393-L.jpg


I am interested in using the image as a stamp. Is there a possability to purcahse the image so that I can use it for my daughters wedding invites?
My email address is mindy@bumbershute.com

[BetterVersionOfMe]

I really do. I will have to agree it does make me sad - but I love that feeling it stirs inside. I love the shadows. I dont have any whipping comments ! sorry:clap

[pathfinder]

I am interested in using the image as a stamp. Is there a possability to purcahse the image so that I can use it for my daughters wedding invites?
My email address is mindy@bumbershute.com

Sorry about the delay in responding, Mindy Email has been sent:thumb

[Tessa HD]

well, that was weird! i didn't see the date of the post and i'm reading through the responses, and i get to a ramblin one, then see it's from ginger. After I made a quasar expression I realized this was an old post, then I affectionately remembered her ramblings. :lust