The only flower with any type of bloom was a peace lily my wife keeps in the kitchen. So, for the Cliche shot I decided to put it to use, along with my grand piano.
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Place: 33 out of 246 Avg (all users): 6.2124 Avg (commenters): 6.6923 Avg (participants): 6.1810 Avg (non-participants): 6.2597 Views since voting: 1959 Votes: 193 Comments: 14 Favorites: 1 (view)
What a wonderful photograph!!! And the fact that it is your grand piano and your wife' peace lily could make me cry. Isn't this what cliche is all about? A sentiment or image that touches so many people so often and so strongly that we run out of ways to portray it?
Yes, I agree that the thin red line makes the photo stunning. That is because everything else is so very perfect that the red line can accentuate the composition. Look what you've set up. The strong diagonal leading lines are the flower stem, the felt, And the front of the white keys. Then the repeating cross diagonals are the black piano keys. These create a rythmic pattern, are mirrored in the reflection and all point to the lily. So, instead of following the diagonals off the page, the viewer is steered to the flower again and again. The flower you decided on is stunning in this scene, the piano itself has so many petal/keys that a flower with only a single petal and a single leaf creates a contrast (nevermind that you can't find flowers in the winter, you could have bought a different one if the lisy hadn't been so perfect). The contrast of textures is especially nice. I like that you picked a spiky sort of flower because the piano keys are so smooth. I like the simple repeating shape of the flower petal and the leaf, an organic repeat, laid on all the repeating smooth black and white rectangles. And then look inside the flower petal, more tiny white piano keys!
Your lighting is exquisite. I assume it is artifical light (though I want to imagine this piano in a circular sunroom all made of windows and columns and skylights so this could be daylight). I don't recall ever seeing such a perfect white in a photograph. Whatever you did was oh so perfect.
Your choice of focus and depth of field is very nice - The flower is in sharp focus and the piano provided the background music by being in softer focus. The red line that everyone loved so much is fuzzy so that it doesn't compete with the lines of the flower. If it had been sharp, it would have drawn attention away from the flower.
I'm surprised that this photo didn't place higher. Oh well, you have a personal masterpiece. Won't it look nice framed in red velvet and hung on one of those lovely whote columns in your grand piano rotunda with all the sky lights? Buy your wife a new lily for valentines day!
and now the obligatory disclaimer: remember that this is only my opinion and I am NOT an expert. I wish I could have suggested a way to improve your photo but everything seemed perfect to me. oh, theres a teeny weeny brown spot on the flower. I guess you are human after all.
Beautiful well done photo. Is it supposed to have some significance that I'm missing? A song or a movie? This may sound silly to you, but what makes this photo for me is the red felt showing at the back of the keys. It adds just a very little of color to the photo. Just one of those tiny details that make or break a photo for me. Keeps it from being just another piano photo. Great job.
Wow, double wammie. A piano will usually get a 4 from me, and a lili will get a 4. 2 x 4 = 8. actually it's a very nice shot. I like the contrasting colours. Jacko. 8
Composition: Excellent. I really like the crossing lines of the flower stem and the piano keys.
Technical: Nice lighting and contrast. I love the way the leaf merges into the keys. DOF on the keys looks spot on but the flower seems to be slightly out of focus at the top edge. It doesn't affect it much for me though.
Overall impression: Might have considered a thin red border to match the red in the pic.. Hope this will be top 10. 9
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