I usually don't do the weekly assignment because I'm lazy. For some reason I got off the couch today and went prowling with my camera. I made one fairly mundane image that seems to fit the topic. Also, made one image I liked after I twisted it in PS. It reminds me of Mars in an old cartoon. The flower head in the second forms a rounded parasol shape. I suppose it's somewhat on topic. Obviously folks will complain I've abused PS, but I like twisted.

What do you think, submit the mundane or go with my whimsy?

@auntipode,

I think I'd go with the first as I can't make the leap from the second to the 'Rounded' theme.

Comments for what they're worth -

the background in the back is a bit too bright for my taste in #1 - nice, sharp subject;

I'd try a vertical crop in #2 to subtract about 1/2 of the red on the LHS, I really like the colors and contrast of the white against the green background - very 'seasonal' for the northern hemisphere (which is probably not what you intend), I can't tell if there is haloing or some CA around the stalk and arc of the bloom?

But generally, I'm much like you in that I lack the motivation to try some WA's - I need to do better in that regard Maybe a New Year's Resolution

Cheers,

Bob

Thanks for your comments, Bob.

1) In the first image I had knocked down the brightness of the corners and background with a lasso selected blurred gray layer. In the original image the background was much brighter - it had an interesting, if perhaps too harsh, contrast.

2) The top of the petal array is "rounded" into a parasol - thin, but I think it stretches the topic only a wee bit. The haloed stem is an artifact of a bit of excess sharpening. I noticed it before I went to bed, but I felt it was good enough to pose my question.

Here's the original parasol.

I'm envious - late spring in your part of the world?

Weather here (east-central Georgia, US) has pretty much turned to fudge - rain for the past three days but we desperately need it given the sorry state of water reservoirs and lakes...otherwise most everything is some shade of brown with most leaves gone from the trees.

Good luck with the entry!

Bob

In the USA, summer is defined to start the day the Sun is farthest north. In New Zealand, summer is defined by law to start on December 1st. Because of our time zone, it's now December 1st and therefore, the first day of summer. OTOH, this morning it's been spring-like, raining and, at about 11 am, it's 20 degrees C (68 degrees F). Legislating summer doesn't change the weather.

1is definitely better for the them - rounded.

2 might work for rounded if the flow made up 1/2 the frame but with the small size, you have to think rounded to found rounded.

1 without the theme. is nicely exposed and great bokeh. I think I would crop a bit off the right (1/2 to round) and see if it improves.

2 for me has too small a main subject and too large a bokeh area. I think it would be better with just one flower and makeing the 1 flower at least a 1/3 of the picture.

Scott

Very nice shots, out of curiosity, more as one interested in ferns, i presume no.1 is a tree fern, possibly Dicksonia squarrosa?

Yes, it is a fern tree, although I confess I couldn't tell a Dicksonia Squarrosa from Dick and Sonia play ring round a rosy.

I believe it's the same species as the one in this image, if seeing more of the fronds helps identify it...:

Karen,

Apart from the assignment aspect, I really like the first. Great natural spiral, nicely detailed, excellent choice of DOF. Baclground is interesting without being distracting. I'd crop a bit from the left, eliminating the first unfolded fern.

Envious of your weather.
In the Boston area its hovering around 2C, rain, sleet, and enveloping gloom. It wont be pretty until the snow starts to fall, somewhere in the next 3-5 weeks, typically.

Scott

My home rule: I won't have a home anywhere palm trees won't grow ... outside.

I tried cropping image , but I didn't like the cropped version. However, if I rotate the cropped image five degrees, I like it about as well as the original.

Comments?

Auntipode,

I like both images. Love the DOF and the colors. The second one in red is very cool.

Kaden, somehow I rather imagined you'd be the one who appreciated the whimsy.

I actually like the framing more on your original version, rather than the suggested crop. What bothers me about the first image is the first coiled fern; its just too prominent and uncomfortably blurry, drawing too much attention. But I like how the stem enters the frame and having my eye drawn along the length to the right.

Scott

Hi, Karen... I like your whimsical parasol...hauntingly beautiful~

Nice shot of the fern tree - I am not so keen on the macro - somehow a little bit like plastic to me. BUT ...

I have to look at your parasol again - delicate and cheerful colors

Best, Bee

Thanks, Bee!

AuntiPode I apologize in advance for playing with this image of yours but I couldn't help it. Here is another version:

See, if *I* posted that, some helpful soul would suggest I clean my sensor.

AuntiPode wrote:
See, if *I* posted that, some helpful soul would suggest I clean my sensor.


Nah, it's obvious you need a fresh UV filter....

Bob

As a side note, FWIW, rather than a UV filter, I usually keep a circular polarizing filter on my W. A. L., taking it off only for a few low light shots or special circumstances.

AuntiPode, come to think of it I seldom use a polarizer filter just because I like to
shoot reflections and love complex images with incidental interference but lately I
have bought a boatload of b+w filters and I am starting to experiment with them.

I like the extra blue in the sky and the deeper colors that otherwise might be diluted by reflection. When I keep my wits about me, admittedly not often enough, I try to remember to take it off when I want reflections. If I shot black and white film, I'd probably go back to a yellow filter. Given what a good lens costs in N.Z. and the cost and delay of any repairs, a little front element protection is wise insurance.