Water Lily (?)

.... I think.

My first flower shot. Generally I tend to document things I see and don't really give too much thought to making art when I press the button, give me some direction if you will.

Yes, and a nice shot of it. The reflection and the damsel fly are excellent for added value. Some would prefer it cropped a little tighter, losing the partial lily pads left and bottom. I don't think they hurt the shot. Nice work.

The damsel fly is certainly a bonus, but adding the ripple ring makes it outstanding. If you want to be really picky you could shave off a tad of the right side and bottom, but that's mostly just personal preference.

Great reflection of the damsel fly as well as the Lilly overall. Personally I would crop out the other pads as they do not add any value to the photo.

Thanks for checkin' in Folks and verifying my ID of this plant.
I appreciate your comments and critique.... I hear ya on the crop and did do a bit of it.

The reason I didn't shave any more of the surrounding pads is that I was afraid to lose any of the ripple and also I thought the reflection of the flower and Danselfly shouldn't crowd the edge of the frame at the bottom ( ? )

I was thinking that the reflection and ripple needed some "space" or "frame" around them ( ? )

It's all a matter of taste I suppose, but at the same time I'll bet in some classroom somewhere, people anguish over these types of things !

I'll play with it some and see what I come up with. Thanks again !

Ted

sparker1 wrote in post #16989260
Yes, and a nice shot of it. The reflection and the damsel fly are excellent for added value. Some would prefer it cropped a little tighter, losing the partial lily pads left and bottom. I don't think they hurt the shot. Nice work.

Jon Clemens wrote in post #16989318
The damsel fly is certainly a bonus, but adding the ripple ring makes it outstanding. If you want to be really picky you could shave off a tad of the right side and bottom, but that's mostly just personal preference.

floydbutz4 wrote in post #16989335
Great reflection of the damsel fly as well as the Lilly overall. Personally I would crop out the other pads as they do not add any value to the photo.

You asked for some direction, so;

Look very carefully at it. Then keep doing what you did here. I really like this image, and am trying to learn all I can from it in order to improve my photography. Very well done!

heh, heh, heh.... Thanks David, a fine compliment.
I have seen some of your bridges and am proud to be of some inspiration !

NCSA197 wrote in post #16990226
You asked for some direction, so;

Look very carefully at it. Then keep doing what you did here. I really like this image, and am trying to learn all I can from it in order to improve my photography. Very well done!

Nice capture.

Very nice shot. If you decide to crop it a bit, I would get rid of the pad on the left - mainly because it is bright enough to be distracting. I understand your reasoning about space. Perhaps just darken the pad on the left would be sufficient? Anyway, it is definitely a lovely shot.

Nice shot, I really the ripples in the water.

Beautiful and fantastic shot!! Truly love the ripples....reflections​....
Holding a straight edge up to the screen, I agree with others who said crop out the left pad.

paul3221 wrote in post #16993395
Nice capture.

FPP wrote in post #16993558
Very nice shot. If you decide to crop it a bit, I would get rid of the pad on the left - mainly because it is bright enough to be distracting. I understand your reasoning about space. Perhaps just darken the pad on the left would be sufficient? Anyway, it is definitely a lovely shot.

airmod wrote in post #16993595
Nice shot, I really the ripples in the water.

JanetS wrote in post #16993609
Beautiful and fantastic shot!! Truly love the ripples....reflections​....
Holding a straight edge up to the screen, I agree with others who said crop out the left pad.

Thanks to all. I appreciate you taking the time to hang with me on this...... Here is a "butched" version:

Better!!!! Now my eye is immediately drawn to the water lily & dragon fly and their reflections. Love this.
What NCSA197 said: "Look very carefully at it. Then keep doing what you did here. I really like this image, and am trying to learn all I can from it in order to improve my photography. Very well done!"

JanetS wrote in post #16994139
Better!!!! Now my eye is immediately drawn to the water lily & dragon fly and their reflections. Love this.
What NCSA197 said: "Look very carefully at it. Then keep doing what you did here. I really like this image, and am trying to learn all I can from it in order to improve my photography. Very well done!"

Thanks for the comeback Janet, I'll keep working at it. When I shoot birds, I know I want to showcase a particular individual and clean up all the clutter surrounding my subject.

I was thinking when I was composing in this pool that it was more like a miniature Landscape and that I needed to show a bigger view of what was going on and thought people would just naturally find my focal point..... I think I am beginning to understand the errors of my ways!

The original works better for me. Having the water lily just a little off center looks good. Seeing all of the round ripple looks better than having it touch the edge of the frame. The little bit of color on the pad to the left adds a little bit also. The suggestion to just darken the lily-pad a bit; yeah, maybe. But for me the original is an image I'd hang in my home. The new crop? It's OK, but lost something. I like your first decision much more.