Help me choose the number one shot for class

My subject this week is nature. Instead of shooting a pretty flower like everyone else, I thought I would give some off camera flash a roll and shoot some water flowing from a tap. Which, of these three, do you think are the most appealing:

Sure that's nature? There are other pretty things...

Seeing they're different shots and you didn't just change color or I am tired, the first is the most crisp and clear. Still, not that great especially considering you have the facet in the photo.

Sorry, I'm critical when I'm tired. What's wrong with a flower?

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1 and 3 are distracting due to the light. If you had to chose, 2 would be the one. I'm not sure it's nature though. I get it; water=nature, but pipes and hydrolics and faucets do not. Dont do the cliche flower, do something uniqe and outside. I do like you pics though, i'm just not sure they fit your nature prompt. Good lcuk!

Do some trash that was left in a nature setting, like a very nice landscape with some trash in it. :P

Personally I think its great you're thinking outside the box. Thats often when we create truly wonderful images. Your going in a good direction! If you could spread the water drops/stream out to look like rain with an out of focus foliage background it may be more appropriate for a nature image. Or the raindrops bouncing off a leaf...just some ideas based on your current theme.

The first image you could crop out the water source at the top- or clone it away in PS. The images are nice in thier own respect but it doesn't suggest nature to me. It may not for your instructor either.

Hope this helps..........

Chris

No crops yet -- the faucet will be gone in the final product. .

I shot some backup before doing these. I have some nice pics of a dead dandelion to fall back on. The teacher generally encourages open interpretation of his themes. However, I might just be married to the idea just because I wanted to pull it off. I had never messed with off camera flash before.

I would prefer #1 if it weren't for the light on the background. In my opinion, the colored gel shots are more anti-nature than nature. Actually, water from a faucet is kind of anti-nature in my view, although I suppose it could represent our dependence on nature.

You'll have to pardon my view. I think most of us have lost touch with nature. For instance, did you know dandelions are not native to the United States?

While the effect of "freezing" the water in motion is interesting, I don't think the composition of any of the three shots - even cropped a bit - is the least bit interesting as a creative photograph.

If I were the instructor, composition would probably have a large weight in my grading.

A thought - if you could turn the faucet upside-down and make a "flower" out of the water stream, that might have some possibilities.

Jim M wrote in post #5469765
I would prefer #1 if it weren't for the light on the background. In my opinion, the colored gel shots are more anti-nature than nature. Actually, water from a faucet is kind of anti-nature in my view, although I suppose it could represent our dependence on nature.

You'll have to pardon my view. I think most of us have lost touch with nature. For instance, did you know dandelions are not native to the United States?

I did not know that they weren't native, although they sure seem to have made themselves at home!

SkipD wrote in post #5469775
While the effect of "freezing" the water in motion is interesting, I don't think the composition of any of the three shots - even cropped a bit - is the least bit interesting as a creative photograph.

If I were the instructor, composition would probably have a large weight in my grading.

A thought - if you could turn the faucet upside-down and make a "flower" out of the water stream, that might have some possibilities.

I like that idea. I am not sure my wife would like the mess!

It also occurred to me that it might look cool if the water was doing something, like watering a flower. Solving that lighting problem might take more time then I have though.

I can't think of many instances where water streams down as in the photo, so cropping out the source (the hint of a faucet) is not an issue to me. There's is just enough there that your mind can figure out the source, but not enough to be a distraction. With the faucet, there is no doubt that this is water. In #2, due the coloring I find myself wondering what that green fluid is, could be anti-freeze or some type of hydraulic fluid or lime flavored Kool-aide for all I know.

As we are all aware, water is one of the basic building blocks of all life, so it fits the "Nature" theme for me. And with the current threats to sustained sources of fresh water, its an even better fit.

#1 would be my pick, followed by #3.

#2 for me.

If you stretch it you could argue that the green adds to the nature theme.