Nobody seems to like this picture...

Bibos · Sep 8, 2005

... but me. I just can't put my finger on the reason of why I do

.
What do you think? Critique and Comments welcome.

aprilraven · Sep 8, 2005

ok...i'm weirder than weird...but i dig this... love the pollen on the leaf...the contrast of color..the flower being half there.......totally cool shot to me....

and if you like it, and you took it...who cares if anyone else likes it.....this is a part of you..... (my opinion is not nessessarily that of a sane person...!!)

sfaribault · Sep 8, 2005

I like the colors!! The detail on the petals and leaf are great..

Steve :thumbup:

TBaraki · Sep 8, 2005

I love this picture! I guess we're all nobodies.

ShutteredEye · Sep 8, 2005

I like it to.

But what others may be reacting to is the "dead space" in the center of the picture. There is interesting stuff above, and below, but no definitive pathway to get between the two. Does that make any sense at all?

NMLeakway · Sep 8, 2005

I think its amazing. This is actually one of my favorite photographs ever posted on this forum. The leaf extending out of the shot really makes it great.

Raymond J Barlow · Sep 8, 2005

ya, it's very cool., and interesting.

errant_star · Sep 8, 2005

I didn't respond to this shot the first time I looked at it ... but I keep getting drawn back to it, it is a very interesting composition and the negative space should probably be deterring me from it ... but I like it ... you are not alone :mrgreen:

M @ k o · Sep 8, 2005

errant_star said:
I didn't respond to this shot the first time I looked at it ... but I keep getting drawn back to it, it is a very interesting composition and the negative space should probably be deterring me from it ... but I like it ... you are not alone :mrgreen:

If I may add to that, your focusing point is dead on. I really like your comp in this shot. I have took plenty of Sunflowers, but never, ever thought of this kind of frame. Very nice photo.

Dollface · Sep 8, 2005

I think what works for it is that the petals are bending in the same shape as the leaf, and that's what allows this composition to work. That they are in "sync" with each other.

spike5003 · Sep 8, 2005

ok im with errant star that i keep looking at this... something about it is a little odd and i cant figgure out what. Maybe its because there are 2 parts in focus and blur in between. I dont know I cant decide... It sure is keeping my attention though and its different. The boundaries need to be pushed now and then. Now im rambling

Yeah... Dont confuse me like this, jk. Keep up the unique photos

LizM · Sep 9, 2005

A truly unique shot (and that is so VERY rare). If the folks you know (outside cyberspace) are like the ones I know - they all think that the object should be shown in its entirety in the center of the shot with at least a couple of inches of blank space all the way around it. Ugh!!!! Don't listen to them. If you like it - then its good.

JonK · Sep 9, 2005

I like it too. Breaks the rules and does it well so it works for me. Might work well in BW too.

ksmattfish · Sep 9, 2005

I think it's an interesting photo.

One of my early mentors said he wasn't concerned whether people liked his photos. More important is how long someone spends looking at it.

This image could be used in advertising, with the sales pitch/product framed by the flower and leaf. But by adding a central subject it would change the composition into something more typical.

terri · Sep 9, 2005

JonK said:
I like it too. Breaks the rules and does it well so it works for me. Might work well in BW too.

Agreed, except I think it will always be strongest with this vibrant color. The dead space works because, though blurred, it's not so blurred that the viewer can't still see the detail of the spikes on the stem. The strong yellow on top is reflected back from the pollen spots on the bottom, so it is tied together in a subtle way.

I think it's one of those images that may not grab you at first glance because of its subtlety. But it works for me, and I dig it for the unique perspective. :thumbup:

LizM is correct. Most people don't want to study something to appreciate it; they want a fast-food picture that requires no study. That's not a bash to your friends, it's just the nature of the untrained eye, if that makes sense. Stick to your guns!