A few more images for C&C ...

I like them all Izzie. My favorites in this order are
#1. bee as it is a once in a life time image. even if you get more it is the first.
#2 the little girl. I think the white vignette works with the soft focus.
#3 the Curly tulips

Though I understand the group of angels I think I would have also tried some shots of each with a little more detail. just for fun:)

Thanks Bill for the extra response.

Mark -- you chose all the three that others do not like..:D OK...thanks for the preference. Thanks for the suggestion about the angels, I think I will have to do that on my next trip there next month as there will be a glass show or something. Bill like us to go somewhere at weekends and sometimes I really do not want to go anywhere when it had been raining all week like this week. Thanks for passing by and commenting. I really do appreciate it very much. Photography is therapy, just like chopping vegetables. I enjoy both. :)

I like very much Izzie!!!!!

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Originally Posted by IzzieK

Thanks Bill for the extra response.

Mark -- you chose all the three that others do not like..:D OK...thanks for the preference. Thanks for the suggestion about the angels, I think I will have to do that on my next trip there next month as there will be a glass show or something. Bill like us to go somewhere at weekends and sometimes I really do not want to go anywhere when it had been raining all week like this week. Thanks for passing by and commenting. I really do appreciate it very much. Photography is therapy, just like chopping vegetables. I enjoy both. :)

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You might say I am different:).

I like 1,3,4 and 8 Isabel :) I also like the B&W version of 8.

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Originally Posted by mknittle

You might say I am different:).

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Ok...you're different -- there I said it! It's good to get out of your cave every now and then you know. You should take some pictures of your bonsai thing...show us what you got...OK?

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Originally Posted by bnnrcn

I like 1,3,4 and 8 Isabel :) I also like the B&W version of 8.

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Thank you for passing by in this one too, Binnur and expressing your preferences. I like #8 too. The little girl was incidental..and the parents do not mind. I should have shown the mother my shot but it slipped my mind. 'Appreciate your comments here too. Thanks, again.

Izzie, your B&W version #8 is much better.:)
Cheers Ole

Hi Izzie,

Late again!

Looks like you almost don't need me; seeing all the above posts and your replies, but I'll see what I can do ...

#1 As has been mentioned, the light didn't help with this, same for the time of year - had the trees been in leaf, you'd have a colour contrast from the background to aid separation of the Angel Musicians from the morass of grey trunks and branches. Without shooting at a different time of day, or different weather, or different time of year, to capture all three, all you can do is isolate with DoF and although I can't see your aperture (no EXIF attached), it looks like you probably did all you could with that anyway. Thinking creatively, one other option would be to try to light them somehow, but that's way more effort than a hobbyist needs to go to. Given they are what they are (i.e. not in an ideal grouping or facing in great directions), I think you did as well as you could under the circumstances.

#2 A good catch, I like the yellow lines forming a runway* :D
Cropping down to 100% is never going to give a great result, although I think it may have been possible to process with less noise and better sharpening as long as you shot RAW, if this was a jpg capture, what we see is more understandable.

* Yeah, I know, runways don't look like that and yellow is for taxiing really.


#3 It's a grab shot of a kid in a buggy, not a lot to be said, I think the white vignette helps and while I almost agree with the composition, I did wonder about losing a slither off the top edge.

#4 A nice group of three, each contributing to our understanding of the whole bloom. Background reasonably well controlled for limiting distractions. very good use of the available DoF.

#5 Unfortunately, this one isn't focussed where I'd have chosen (as are so many of my shots!), but the depth of subject made this impossible from the off without focus stacking.

#6 This is different and kinda works for me.

#7 I think this is my favourite because of the light, personally; I'm not sure you needed all that negative space on the right, but it was obviously a definite choice as I can see that you extended the canvas to make it even bigger over there - caught you!

#8/9 An interesting corkscrew effect going on there and I do prefer the B&W version for the extra detail more easily visible in the bark.

I find that photographing flowers 'up close' is all about finding a composition that works AND still makes best use of limited DoF, the latter isn't always easy to see through the viewfinder, but you succeeded in 3 out of 4 and very well in 2 of them. Then there's the backgrounds to consider too and there's nothing too bad in these - so well done.

I hope my ramblings were worth waiting for ;)

Cheers, Dave

I like it too Izzie, the B&W is really nice. It's a very interesting shot. The discussion here was interesting too. I sure like #7 tulip too, it's crisp and shiny and the colors fore and back are very nice - maybe a little cropping off the right side??

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Originally Posted by mugge

Izzie, your B&W version #8 is much better.:)
Cheers Ole

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Thank you Ole for commenting. 'Appreciate it.

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Originally Posted by Dave Humphries

Hi Izzie,

Late again!

Looks like you almost don't need me; seeing all the above posts and your replies, but I'll see what I can do ...

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I still need you because you sometimes see things others don't or at least I left out...I kinda like your point of v view. :)

#1 As has been mentioned, the light didn't help with this, same for the time of year - had the trees been in leaf, you'd have a colour contrast from the background to aid separation of the Angel Musicians from the morass of grey trunks and branches. Without shooting at a different time of day, or different weather, or different time of year, to capture all three, all you can do is isolate with DoF and although I can't see your aperture (no EXIF attached), it looks like you probably did all you could with that anyway. Thinking creatively, one other option would be to try to light them somehow, but that's way more effort than a hobbyist needs to go to. Given they are what they are (i.e. not in an ideal grouping or facing in great directions), I think you did as well as you could under the circumstances.

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#2 A good catch, I like the yellow lines forming a runway* :D
Cropping down to 100% is never going to give a great result, although I think it may have been possible to process with less noise and better sharpening as long as you shot RAW, if this was a jpg capture, what we see is more understandable.

* Yeah, I know, runways don't look like that and yellow is for taxiing really.

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You know I didn't know why it didn't say I used my D810 for all my shots really and I have no idea why it doesn't have the EXIF intact. I will make sure I put it in next load of submissions next week. I think I have enough for this week to keep everyone going hitting me left and right and centre with their comments. :D j..k...

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#3 It's a grab shot of a kid in a buggy, not a lot to be said, I think the white vignette helps and while I almost agree with the composition, I did wonder about losing a slither off the top edge.

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Might do that next time I have enough time. I did a lot in the garden today and I can feel my sore back. Must be old age. I am not tired though, just sore...see? changed the subject again. Sorry...

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#4 A nice group of three, each contributing to our understanding of the whole bloom. Background reasonably well controlled for limiting distractions. very good use of the available DoF.

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Thank you. I did got a comment from Bill (Billitis) that I need to have my threes there all sharp just to give impact. I was so used to spot metering and decided to take a close up shot but I should had changed to matrix instead...next time...

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#5 Unfortunately, this one isn't focused where I'd have chosen (as are so many of my shots!), but the depth of subject made this impossible from the off without focus stacking.

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You know -- you are right. Maybe it is fear about what happened last time when I have to have my camera fixed because of focus stacking...I should not be scared by now...It was just a wrong choice at the time..

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#6 This is different and kinda works for me.

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Even if the top is not focused? Thanks...

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#7 I think this is my favourite because of the light, personally; I'm not sure you needed all that negative space on the right, but it was obviously a definite choice as I can see that you extended the canvas to make it even bigger over there - caught you!

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No I didn't...I shot it wider so I can move it either way left or right, but not as wide that I wouldn't have room. I put that broken flower in the center with enough room on each side and up and down too just for editing...I would have had to remove something of another distraction and copied in something else...I don't know...

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#8/9 An interesting corkscrew effect going on there and I do prefer the B&W version for the extra detail more easily visible in the bark.

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That's my favourite of all because it's like a monster flicking its hand to the others like a whip.

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I find that photographing flowers 'up close' is all about finding a composition that works AND still makes best use of limited DoF, the latter isn't always easy to see through the viewfinder, but you succeeded in 3 out of 4 and very well in 2 of them. Then there's the backgrounds to consider too and there's nothing too bad in these - so well done.

I hope my ramblings were worth waiting for ;)

Cheers, Dave

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Thank you for the care and attention to my dilemma and yes, it was well worth waiting for...Thank you so much for commenting. You know I always appreciate the lessons and the critique, close critique, I should say...

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Originally Posted by Rainforest

I like it too Izzie, the B&W is really nice. It's a very interesting shot. The discussion here was interesting too. I sure like #7 tulip too, it's crisp and shiny and the colors fore and back are very nice - maybe a little cropping off the right side??

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Maybe you are right, Susan... As I have already said to Dave who critique my shots well and hard so I will learn, I shot that centred with enough on top and bottom and on both sides so I can at least take it off centred instead of smack right centred. I have enough submission this week and needed to help in the garden so I cannot do any editing this week. I still have enough to process. So I am not lost without having nothing to share. Thank you so much for passing by and commenting. I do appreciate it very much.

Hi Izzie,

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I still need you because you sometimes see things others don't or at least I left out

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I try to not repeat the already said, so that makes me analyse more carefully, which helps all of us if I do find 'something else'

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Even if the top is not focused?

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Yes - I looked at it this way; without stacking, it was one or the other (being sharp), so I thought it better you got the high contrast bits sharp rather than the low contrast (yellow on white) parts sharp at the expense of the other. It also happens that the camera's AF will probably work better on high contrast edges than low, so that helps us all.


If you look at #7 above, over to the right hand side, there's what appears to be a repeated part of the image, with a sharp line, contrast differences and all, even up to the top edge - that's why I thought you'd extended the canvas, but I see I might be mistaken about the cause, since not everything fits my theory. Anyways, it's still my favourite for the bright colours and the 'sectional' aspect allowing study of the interior structure from an angle we don't usually see.

Cheers, Dave

Thanks for the extra help...at the time I got fascinated with broken petals and showing just the inside without extra camera peaking because it was all on show already at the time. some I had been successful, with wind, it was almost impossible.

Anyway, I really do appreciate the learning experience from you despite all the joke I float about your way of pushing me up the wall to help me learn better. :D No joke...I am serious...