[Tonytee]

I had quite a lot of trepidation as to whether to take the shot or just keep walking. My wife, who is the green thumber in the household, encouraged me to do the best I could come up with. I started by studying each petal of every flower for its own merit. The colors really came through as being photo worthy. I am not very pleased with the composition, as I know there isn't a whole lot that can be done when it is a privately owned commercial enterprise. The surface of the leaves appear to have a lot of noise, however that is the actual state of their surfaces, rough. At any rate I am hoping to receive some critiquing as it is obvious, I need help. ))

Thanks,

Tonytee

P.S. I am okay with the sharpness, however I lost quite a bit of brightness.

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Last edited by Tonytee; 04-30-2016 at 12:22 AM. Reason: Additional Information

[dms]

(IMO)
-- the image is too dark. It may be realistic but the colors are attractive if much brighter (colors pushed are really amazing). And the green leaves also look better lighter.
-- The other thing is the picture is both not symmetric and too symmetric.
-- I actually tried modifying it--hope you don't mind. Just using curves in photoshop and a crop.

[Tonytee]

Yes, it absolutely looks better. In fact, it actually looks just about the same as my original. I do not know how to compensate for the loss of brightness during uploading. Perhaps I could brighten the image prior to uploading and see how it works. Thanks very much for taking the time and interest to help.

Rgds,

Tonytee

[Bruce Clark]

Follow the wife's advise and take the shot.

Given the constraints on trampling someone else's garden, composition can be a bit challenging at times. For this one I would zoom out a little, the main flower is a bit too close tot he edges in my opinion. The emerging buds are a bonus.

You have done well in getting light where it is needed. Personally I dislike fiddling about with reflectors, flash etc while in the garden and prefer using available light. If a flower such as this stands out to the eye, chances are that it will also stand out in the photograph. Even so the light can be adjusted to advantage in PP. This type of image really calls for selective burning and dodging. Brightening up the main flower and emerging bud and darkening the leaves and edges. The bottom 1/4 of the flower is darker and could use a very slight lift. I would also consider some spot removal. There are three or four obvious dots, specks of pollen possibly, that while perfectly natural, really do not enhance the photograph.

Summary: Nice flower with good potential.

[Tonytee]

Follow the wife's advise and take the shot.

Given the constraints on trampling someone else's garden, composition can be a bit challenging at times. For this one I would zoom out a little, the main flower is a bit too close tot he edges in my opinion. The emerging buds are a bonus.

You have done well in getting light where it is needed. Personally I dislike fiddling about with reflectors, flash etc while in the garden and prefer using available light. If a flower such as this stands out to the eye, chances are that it will also stand out in the photograph. Even so the light can be adjusted to advantage in PP. This type of image really calls for selective burning and dodging. Brightening up the main flower and emerging bud and darkening the leaves and edges. The bottom 1/4 of the flower is darker and could use a very slight lift. I would also consider some spot removal. There are three or four obvious dots, specks of pollen possibly, that while perfectly natural, really do not enhance the photograph.

Summary: Nice flower with good potential.

Well thank you B.C., I certainly appreciate your encouraging words and instructional methods to improve my picture qualities. It was and still is a challenge to get everything to fall into place smoothly. Once again, many thanks.

Tonytee