B&W Dahlia

[Greg]

Wanted to highlight the structure and pattern of this dahlia. What do you think?

f/16, 13.0 sec, ISO320, 100mm

[beth]

i love the dark tones and detail on the flower.  the brighter center of the flower is a nice focal point.

i think the comp. could be improved by moving the flower more towards the left of the frame.  the flower is angled towards the right so normally you move it to the opposite side of how it’s angled to give it room to look into the frame.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Love the way you have processed the flower Greg. I agree with Beth’s comment about the composition as that is what crossed my mind as soon as I looked at the photo 🙂

[Greg]

I’ll try extending the canvas on the right and cropping in from the left.

[beth]

that should work.  it’ll be easy enough to do with that background.

[Greg]

Here it is with it’s frame shifted.

Didn’t mean to make it that small. Hmmm…

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Not sure, but a bit more space on top and bottom would work better Greg? 🙂

[beth]

i like the placement of this one better.  but now that dahlia’s mentioned it, it is a little tight on top.

[Greg]

Yep, I agree with both of you — I’ll add a bit to the top and bottom.

Thanks, both of you! (Beth and Dahlia)

[Greg]

Does this look better?

[JasenkaG]

It does 🙂 But since the flower is so perfectly round and symmetrical I’d rather put it in the center of the frame.

[Greg]

I was wondering about that as I was composing — whether or not I should go vertical or crop in the sides.

[JasenkaG]

Yeah, I think this version looks best!

[Greg]

Thanks, Jasenka!

[Dahlia Ambrose]

I like the first one. But you could add a bit more space to the right to have the flower on the one third line Greg 🙂

[Greg]

I’m a bit confused: If you are placing the subject on the 1/3 line, what part of the blossom would you put on the vertical (?) 1/3 line, the center of the blossom or some other part?

[Dahlia Ambrose]

I was suggesting something like this Greg. Sorry to have confused you!

With this kind of crop, it would help to have a bit more of the flower stalk at the bottom. Maybe you could do another shot of this flower in the future in a different way. The textures/patterns are great! 🙂

[Greg]

I’m beginning to see a pattern here 🙂

[Federico Alegria]

Beyond the cropping suggestions (with which I do agree btw) I need to highlight that exquisite shape and structure! It is wonderful how lack and white makes it to deliver such interesting aesthetic experiences.

[Greg]

Thanks, Federico! Appreciate your comments.

[Frank]

Interesting to see the different crops.  Because the subject is circular, I think the centered version works well.  Maybe cloning out the stem helps to lessen the “look to the right”.  Also added a bit more light to the center to draw one’s attention there.

[Greg]

I like it without the stem. It’s just unnecessary since the point of this is to highlight the structure and texture.

Thanks, Frank.

[Frank]

Looks as though the petals around the center were darkened a bit, so maybe not the look you want.

[Lenny Wollitz]

I like square crop with the flower centered  I think leaving the stem adds just a little bit of reality to what otherwise is pretty much an abstract pattern.  I think square crops lend themselves to a centered subject and the heck with the “rules”.   Very nice BW work!

[Greg]

Thank you, Lenny!

[Author]

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