Dew Drops

[PJM]

Well, since a response of mine to another post in another forum seems to have started a discussion on using the C&C gallery I thought I would take a shot at it.

I normally shoot wildlife. But, while wandering a trail this morning this scene caught my eye and I thought I would give it my best with my long lens.

It was about an hour after sunrise and the subject was lit from the back and side. I was focusing on the dew drops and wanted the leaves and brush behind it to provide a blurry background.

Equipment:
Nikon D500 w/ 200-500, f/5.6 lens

Settings:
1/250 sec
f/7.1
ISO 1000
200mm focal length from about 12 feet

Processed in Lightroom

Questions:
The pine needles in focus are between other fore and aft needles that are a bit soft. Should I have used more DOF to get the near ones in focus?
Did I include too much of the upper branch in the composition. Does it overpower the needles? Is it too distracting?

Any other comments also welcome.

The final and original are both shown for those that might want to make cropping suggestions.

Final

Original

 

[cgw]

These are inherently tough to shoot. You get that DOF is a baked-in problem with pine needles. I wonder, though, whether over-attention to bokeh/background actually sank the shot. The pine needles seem almost an intrusion, rather than a prime feature, in the frame. Have a look sometime at Japanese brush paintings of pines and pine boughs. They might offer a compositional style/approach you could play with later, especially if snow is part of the shot.

Huge contrast range and over-exposure are problematic for me. Seems you spotted elements of a satisfying shot that got lost in an uncropped image later.

 

[Jeff15]

I agree with cgw....

 

[PJM]

These are inherently tough to shoot. You get that DOF is a baked-in problem with pine needles. I wonder, though, whether over-attention to bokeh/background actually sank the shot. The pine needles seem almost an intrusion, rather than a prime feature, in the frame. Have a look sometime at Japanese brush paintings of pines and pine boughs. They might offer a compositional style/approach you could play with later, especially if snow is part of the shot.

Huge contrast range and over-exposure are problematic for me. Seems you spotted elements of a satisfying shot that got lost in an uncropped image later.

Thanks cgw. I will check out the Japanese brush paintings.

And snow is pretty much guaranteed in the near future. I will go back and try again.

 

[zombiesniper]

I would also suggest two things.

Trying to get just a few needles in focus will almost always cause the problem where you very near to each other object both in and out of focus. To try and solve this I would shoot a bit wider to get that entire cluster of needles in frame and if possible in focus. This will in turn give a better subject for the eye.

The second thing is when I have spider webs I try to get a darker background for them to stand out against. In your image I would have tried a step or two to the left if possible, bringing the darker background to the right behind the needles.

Now having said all of this. I've also tried shots like this with my 500mm and have yet to really get one that I like yet. SO get out there and get it before I do. lol

 

[PJM]

I would also suggest two things.

Trying to get just a few needles in focus will almost always cause the problem where you very near to each other object both in and out of focus. To try and solve this I would shoot a bit wider to get that entire cluster of needles in frame and if possible in focus. This will in turn give a better subject for the eye.

The second thing is when I have spider webs I try to get a darker background for them to stand out against. In your image I would have tried a step or two to the left if possible, bringing the darker background to the right behind the needles.

Now having said all of this. I've also tried shots like this with my 500mm and have yet to really get one that I like yet. SO get out there and get it before I do. lol

Thanks for the suggestions. As to the spider webs, I actually didn't even see them until I looked at the photo. I agree, the 500 was probably not the best lens for this but as @Jeff15 says "The only good camera....".