good idea but the exposure suffers from too little dynamic range. the flame is sorta gray. the lines in the wood in the center of the frame are also a distraction.
I don't know what to make of this picture. Everything appears to be so nice. The lighting, the details, the apparent clarity and even the border. But why is it so dark?
I like the lighting of the shot and the shadow it creates. The texture of the wood table is good also. What I dont like is the flame itself - it's rather large and mostly just a big white blob with no detail or shifts of color. The idea is fine, the set up is fine, the flame isnt fine.
I think a vertical crop may work better with this subject. Currently seems like too much negative space. Really like seeing the wood grain of the table. "9"