[BrianR]

Thanks all! It's great being able to get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, ..., nth opinion.

On the lighting and background: if you wanted to convey a stronger sense of that "explosion" I think you could have used the same kind of framing, with stronger flash on one side to create deep shadows on one side, maybe with a strong continuous light behind (but not directly behind) the pod to create some light fringing. Play with strong shadows and contrast if you're unsure of how to approach it more creatively, as your current rendition may seem a bit too evenly lit for the concept you were going for.

The floating effect is perfect for it, though, as the purpose of those seeds is to spread floating through the breeze.

I appreciate the detailed suggestions, I'm often thinking about how to create more dynamic but still relatively simple backgrounds.

Would need something like your nylon super-glued to the seed (and cloned out later) as you have done to hang the pod.
You could even take a longer exposure and move only the nylon attached to the seed to give the impression of it blowing away...

I had also tried to photograph a single seed and I've found the seed fibers cling to any thread or line I've tried via static electricity, making it impossible to erase the line cleanly in post, not to mention tough to have a natural looking 'floating' seed. This will require more contemplation or an exercise in patience trying to drop seeds in front of the camera and capture them midflight.

The long exposure's an interesting idea, hmm. A timelapse might also be interesting.

A beautiful shot of one of my favorites. I have Asclepias Tuberosa in my garden and right now the pods are starting to open. I take them and plant them in other areas of my garden to increase the monarch habitat. The detail in your shot is just amazing! Love it.

These seeds are all destined to be planted. I find it easier to put entire plants in with the monarch caterpillars we bring inside (to rear and release), so it's handy to have some smaller ones started by seed in the spring. Any plants that don't get fed directly to them get planted outside. Asclepias tuberosa's a great garden plant.

[kadajawi]

Absolutely perfect. The colors, motive, composition... it all just works so well. Can't spot a flaw.

[johan kruger]

I like this shot a lot. Good sharpness and lighting and very creative work with fish line...

[redcat]

this could be classified as "abstract" ^^ very very nice !!!

[Weevil]

Did you know that the fiber from this plant is now used to replace down ? it has better isolation factor (33% more efficiency), and it is moist resistant ... a company in Quebec is developing technical clothes with that right now...
Milkweed Fibres - ENCORE 3

[joip]

Did you know that the fiber from this plant is now used to replace down ? it has better isolation factor (33% more efficiency), and it is moist resistant ... a company in Quebec is developing technical clothes with that right now...
Milkweed Fibres - ENCORE 3

That's pretty amazing. Great for the natural fiber textile industry and the butterflies. I like it!

[Weevil]

That's pretty amazing. Great for the natural fiber textile industry and the butterflies. I like it!

Yes, if we could look more into what the nature can offers us, we would be more respectful with it...

[joip]

Yes, if we could look more into what the nature can offers us, we would be more respectful with it...

Absolutely - it was all there before all this

[wildman]

t's from common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, a host plant for Monarch butterflies

Anything that promotes life is not "common" - well done.

[LensBeginner]

I'm always afraid it's just a lack of imagination cop-out to toss an object on a simplistic background and I do it pretty often so I'm looking for any general feedback here. Is it an interesting enough object to stand out of context from nature? Does it give a sense of exploding? Does the tone of the backdrop compliment the pod well? Does the floating nature feel just strange?
*snip*

It looks like an illustration taken from a book on nature.
It looks static to me, that static look that screams "specimen", and I kinda like that.
Nice work!

[luftfluss]

I like it a bunch. I get what you're saying about the simple background, but I can't for the life of me think of a background that would be more complimentary to the subject.

[Dr Orloff]

I think it's excellent, shapes and textures combined with the alien looking nature of the subject work well. Composition is bang on, simple is best. I would go for simpler still with a more evenly lit background, there are two darker corners and one lighter and I find that a bit distracting. I think a little more texture in the background might add something. The slightly mottled background looks like cleaned up noise and I'd prefer it to be more obviously textured or smoother. But it's a very good image, that simple effectiveness is a damned sight trickier than it looks.

[BrianR]

Thanks to everyone who's commented!

Did you know that the fiber from this plant is now used to replace down ? it has better isolation factor (33% more efficiency), and it is moist resistant ... a company in Quebec is developing technical clothes with that right now...
Milkweed Fibres - ENCORE 3

I had heard something about that, thanks for the link

Anything that promotes life is not "common" - well done.

I'm also opposed to the 'weed' part of the name (though I do understand why farmers don't want it in their fields)

It looks like an illustration taken from a book on nature.
It looks static to me, that static look that screams "specimen", and I kinda like that.
Nice work!

Cheers! I've always loved those old illustrations that show the plant parts.

I like it a bunch. I get what you're saying about the simple background, but I can't for the life of me think of a background that would be more complimentary to the subject.

I think it's excellent, shapes and textures combined with the alien looking nature of the subject work well. Composition is bang on, simple is best. I would go for simpler still with a more evenly lit background, there are two darker corners and one lighter and I find that a bit distracting. I think a little more texture in the background might add something. The slightly mottled background looks like cleaned up noise and I'd prefer it to be more obviously textured or smoother. But it's a very good image, that simple effectiveness is a damned sight trickier than it looks.

Terrific feedback. I had wondered if the slight mottling looked a little like noise at web resolutions, I'll see how it looks printed. Making it obviously textured or obviously smooth is an excellent point and something I usually try to live by, so thanks for pointing it out. As a general rule, in-between things can look accidental or confusing and I think I'm skirting this.

I was hoping the bright and dark corners would lead the viewer along a diagonal in the direction the seedpod was expanding, so I'll be taking your thoughts of it being distracting from the image under advisement. From "plain" it can be hard to find "subtle and effective" instead of "distracting", so I appreciate the use of your compass here.

[Hegemon]

I'm always afraid it's just a lack of imagination cop-out to toss an object on a simplistic background and I do it pretty often so I'm looking for any general feedback here. Is it an interesting enough object to stand out of context from nature? Does it give a sense of exploding? Does the tone of the backdrop compliment the pod well? Does the floating nature feel just strange?

Thanks for any input.

It's from common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, a host plant for Monarch butterflies when they're larva (and a few other things).

Really like this!

[Kaladran]

Love the simplicity of this one, I know there was a lot of thought and effort behind it but the photo is clean and looks like a painter's flora study.