btw... never make a decision on your art based upon mob rule around here. It'll lead you down the path of mediocrity and looking like everyone else.
Despite the wishy-washy nature of this post, I tend to follow my instincts over the opinions of others most of the time. If not, it's usually because I'm just not very excited by the image in question and so I'm more open to opinions. In cases like this, I'm usually suffering from varying degrees of "image fatigue" and am looking to regain some objectivity. The best way I've found is to simply move on to something else and come back to the shot when I'm fresh. Sometimes the freshest eyes belong to someone else. Your point is well taken though.
It's very good to post comments and listen to criticisms and take them seriously, but in the end you have to make a decision that fits YOUR vision... no theirs. If you can't make a decision that fits your vision, then you need to figure that out. Did you HAVE a vision? Or did you have one and you're just not that well plugged into it? etc.
Participation in a forum involves give and take on a number of levels. It's obvious that if people don't provide meaningful commentary on photos, then fewer people will want to post. I think that people who take the time to comment or provide meaningful critique also need the feedback that their time was not wasted. There's a give and take that must occur or the forum eventually become useless to anyone above a certain level unless they're just looking for validation. I've been trying to respond to critique more often - even if it may not impact my choices - just to acknowledge the validity of another perspective and the time it took to express it.
As for the question about vision. I can say that I always have a vision for every shot I take. That being said, some visions are far more fleshed out than others. Also, as someone who has never shot film, my vision at the time of shooting is more about providing a suitable canvas for post processing than it is about getting it perfect out of the camera - although it is very close more often than one might think given my philosphy and approach.
Anyway, thanks for the comments and I hope I haven't bored you all to tears. With respect to the photo in question - the issue is not the crop, but the leaf directly behind the butterfly. It serves to cause the butterfly to have less seperation friom the background than I had hoped for and the composition is less successful as a result. Cropping does not help and introduces a more cluttered feel, which is somewhat counterintuitive.
Alright, time to get some work done.
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/42/42349-fa3065c4e047f0114ec8715d9168dff9.jpg?1734176875)
