Sunset and Flower (For Your Enjoyment and/or not)

[AgentDrex]

Sunset
#1

Flower
#2

 

[willis_927]

I like the first one, but it seems a bit too yellow to me. Also, i think you could get away with cutting off some of the black space on the bottom... Probably about 2/3s of it would be about right.

 

[willis_927]

my appologies if you were not looking for C&C

 

[Compaq]

I was ready for a flower in a sunset... anti climax

Your focus is rather soft in #1. The tree is not in focus (might be moving) but neither is the horizon. I think the image would benefit from lowering the horizon a little bit, to get more of the tree in the frame. You took this vertically, which symbolically means pride and tallness etc. The tree is cut off half way, which takes both away from the tree. Centre horizon isn't necessarily a bad thing. Do you have the possibility of shooting that same spot another time?

As for #2, did the sun go straight into the flower? It looks like that, which makes the light a little flat. No shadows there (except for the centre stalks), which prevents the sense of depth. I like the angle of the shot, though it looks like the flower is flying. Maybe a little distracting background. Nice composition, imo.

 

[Raian-san]

Compaq sums it all up, but did enjoy those pictures. Keep shooting!

 

[AgentDrex]

Its within a ten minute walk from where I live, so I will re-shoot soon...and flower is right outside my house...

 

[Compaq]

Understanding the light is very hard, I'm finding. Having shadows in the right places will give you a sense of depth, some burning could perhpas, not save, but keep it in the respirator, so to speak.

When shooting forms (3 dimensional shapes), shadows are necessities. You flower is almost a shape, which only exists in two dimensions, hence no feeling of depth.

I have learned a lot from Bryan Peterson's "Learning to See Creatively". It's not a book on lightening, but rather composition and what makes strong images.

 

[AgentDrex]

I should have waited for a different part of the day anyways. I guess I was only seeing the shadow from the stamen and trying to capture that...

And I don't turn down C&C even if not specifically asking for it...always good to hear opinions and critiques...I'm still in the learning phase and will be for awhile and I have no ego to bruise...