Taken with Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM and Hoya Close-Up set. Shot nearly wide open, hence the soft focus.
Post processing: Convert to tif, save as PSD, increase saturation +10, USM 125%, Rad. 1, Thresh. 0, crop 1 to 1, resize, USM 125%, Rad. .5, Thresh. 0, Save for Web.
File Name
138_3827.CRW
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shooting Date/Time
5/23/2005 3:46:58 PM
Shooting Mode
Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/160
Av( Aperture Value )
5.0
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
55.0 - 200.0 mm
Focal Length
90.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
RAW
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
AI Focus AF
Parameters
Contrast +1
Sharpness +1
Color saturation +1
Color tone Normal
Color Space
sRGB
File Size
5300KB
Drive Mode
Single-frame shooting
Owner's Name
Camera Body No.
0660102405
Statistics
Place: 164 out of 255 Avg (all users): 5.2213 Avg (commenters): 5.9091 Avg (participants): 5.0916 Avg (non-participants): 5.3607 Views since voting: 1298 Views during voting: 388 Votes: 253 Comments: 15 Favorites: 0
I like the soft focus of the flowers, and I like the line that the blue ones make. I think the composition is harmed, however, by the row of 6 purple flowers in the back. Not a pretty line. The 3 purple flowers most forward are nice.
Softness does work well with these flowers - powder blue all powdery. But the soft focus effect kind of overpowers the subject. The first thing I think when I look at the picture is, "soft focus," not "beautiful flowers."
Nice use of the soft focus. Personally, I think the colors of the flowers are a little to bright for soft focus. Maybe something more pastel for soft focus.
Beauty is a subjective thing, I know. In my scoring and comments I'm trying to score based on NOT whether or not I would think a particular subject beautiful, but on whether the photographer has succeeded in creating a beautiful photo. I look for the elements of color, lines, focus and dof interest, lighting, and a certain element of grace and lovlieness. I'm looking for a unique and creative appeal for the highest scorers. The description says to create a photo that makes the viewer think "that's beautiful", so it will undoubtedly be very subjective. (This is what I'm putting at the start of all of my comments, and I hope it is helpful.)
That being said,I do like the soft focus here. I think it helps to add some feeling to a typical flower shot. It's pretty and it fits the challenge, but I don't find it particularly creative or unique.
An interesting take on a floral close up. I like that you chose to make it "soft" instead of the usual crisp shot. Well done. Very pleasing to the eye.
Artistic yes, will take some time to think about this one, maybe the thing that is not working for me is that the flower that should catch the most attention is so centered but the other blue flowers line into it so it works in a way. I would have cropped it from the right and bottom but I am not sure if I would be right doing that.
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