Steamboat Rock Wild Flowers

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ront

New Member
This is an older picture for me that I have been working on. I think that I am finally happy with it. I would appreciate your thoughts!

Thanks, Ron

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Very nice, I really like the colors! The blue (lupines?) really adds a nice touch.
 
Very nice, Ron. I can't really find anything to criticize about the photo. The yellow is a little dark on my monitor, but
a) this looks like a late evening shot, and it conveys that really well.
b) it might just be my monitor.

So I guess my thoughts are that I really like it. It's a winner in my book! :)
 


I agree, that it is a bit dark on my monitor too. Overall, I think it is a very pretty composition, just needs to be a little brighter.
 
got some nice colors and light in this one, Ron... a couple of comments, if i may? looks like most of the flowers are facing away from you. unless that's what you were after, it might be better to re-shoot this - if you can - with the flowers facing the lens. it also looks like you were trying to get the mesa or hill in the background, but unfortunately, the flowers don't stand out as much against that backdrop... they kinda blend in a bit, especially toward the upper half of the image, and don't have the "pop" they'd have otherwise.
 
Thanks for your comments everyone:).

Rocky, I do agree that it would have been better with the flowers facing me. Not sure how soon I will get back up there as it was quite a climb to get up there. I was pooped!! Could be because I am not in the best of shape:(.
I do see what you are saying about the flowers blending in also. Just wondering how you would have handled that.
All comments AND SUGGESTIONS, are always welcomed. I still have a lot to learn!!

Thanks, Ron
 
I agree with the comments about the foreground and background blending. Part of it is that everything is the pretty much same tone making if look flat. If you can separate them in photoshop by either darkening or lightening either of them. Other than that a different POV when composing the shot might have been better. While it is often good to get low to the ground I think a higher POV might have been better in this case.
 
Thanks for your comments everyone:).

Rocky, I do agree that it would have been better with the flowers facing me. Not sure how soon I will get back up there as it was quite a climb to get up there. I was pooped!! Could be because I am not in the best of shape:(.
I do see what you are saying about the flowers blending in also. Just wondering how you would have handled that.
All comments AND SUGGESTIONS, are always welcomed. I still have a lot to learn!!

Thanks, Ron

Ron, i can certainly sympathize with the "pooped" part... i often find myself short of breath and my leg muscles protesting loudly when i have to climb very far... getting old sucks!!

anyway, without having actually been there to see what other compositions might've been available, it's hard to say what i'd have done... perhaps tried to get lower, using the sky to make the flowers stand out? i don't know what was behind you, whether shooting this from another angle would have offered a better background or not. looks like shooting from the opposite direction might've meant shooting into the sun, which would be worse. one thing i've learned, though, is that trying to shoot a group of flowers like this is a real pain... you can never get the DOF right, and the backgrounds are often not very good. as a result, i will generally shoot flowers either from some distance away, to capture a large cluster of them as part of a larger scene, or i will try to isolate just one or two blooms against a contrasting backdrop, and blur that as much as possible to make the flowers really stand out. to be honest, i find the latter method usually produces more pleasing results.
 


GREAT, thanks for the suggestions JaniceL and Rocky! I really do appreciate them!

This photo was also taken at this location. Lots of DoF here:).

Ron

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now this is a beautiful scene, Ron! the cliffs in the background are perfect from this perspective, and you get a much better feel for the expanse of wildflowers! very nice!
 
I like them both! They're both nice shots and they're two completely different subjects. The first shot is all about the flowers, and the second one is the landscape. I like the second shot, just like the others who have commented, great colors and nice view. It's a really good shot.

That said, I still like the first one too. It's a nice image, and I could easily see it hanging on the wall somewhere. Granted, it doesn't really give you a good view of Steamboat Rock, but it's a great shot of the flowers, so it works for me. (It does look just a touch dark, but I'm going to agree with the other that's probably related to monitor calibration...)
 
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Why do I have such a hard time in picking which is the best picture?? I get very frustrated with this at times!!

Ron
 
Sometimes there is no "best" shot, Ron. Quite often it's purely a matter of opinion. In this case, your second photo is my favorite. But, they are both very dilfferent, and each tell a slightly different story. I wouldn't give up on number 1, but I do appreciate the above suggestions.

Well done.
 


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