spring buds

[moopy goops]

So it's spring and we're all out snapping away at the new buds and first flowers.
This i believe is a hoarthorn. It grabbed my attention so I stole it's soul !!

CC welcome




thanks, mat

[rawill]

But I thought you were still having snow, however, simple,stark and clear.
Well worth the shot. Maybe the bud could be a little larger, but that is just me.
And you would lose some stem if you did that.

[Ken Curtis]

Hi Mat.

You did a nice job of capturing the delicate bud. The background is nicely blurred so there is nothing behind to distract the viewer. As a suggestion, you might want to crop this tighter. The bud in the upper right corner is pulling the eye towards it, and there is not enough of the bud to appreciate it. Likewise the white at the very bottom contributes nothing to the image. So if you could crop out the two other buds, I think it might improve the overall image.

I also wondered if the image wouldn't look a little better if you were to lighten the dark stem a bit so we can see more detail.

[moopy goops]

Hi Mat.

You did a nice job of capturing the delicate bud. The background is nicely blurred so there is nothing behind to distract the viewer. As a suggestion, you might want to crop this tighter. The bud in the upper right corner is pulling the eye towards it, and there is not enough of the bud to appreciate it. Likewise the white at the very bottom contributes nothing to the image. So if you could crop out the two other buds, I think it might improve the overall image.

I also wondered if the image wouldn't look a little better if you were to lighten the dark stem a bit so we can see more detail.

A little like this perhaps?

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Mat,

That crop is better, but it now reveals significant camera movement during the exposure

Thanks for posting at a large size, I wouldn't have spotted it if you'd not done so.

So I looked at the EXIF; Canon 5D Mk.II at 65mm and 1/25s, f/10, iso320.

Not sure if you did/didn't use a tripod, or if the wind moved the subject, but the result is the same - the shot is spoiled I'm afraid.

Don't feel bad, we learn more from our mistakes (and I make plenty) than from our successes.

Cheers,

[moopy goops]

I went commando, as it were,and took no tripod or flash. it's always possible the problem was 'operator error' but it was a bit windy so i'm sticking with that, not me !
thanks for the comments

[Ken Curtis]

A little like this perhaps?

Yes, almost, Mat. It is much better in terms of no distracting elements. I was thinking a little tighter. Like this.