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Nature Garden Art
Nature Garden Art
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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Branch (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S3000
Location: Hamilton New Zealand
Date: Sep 1, 2005
Galleries: Performance, Nature
Date Uploaded: Sep 1, 2005

 Taken early morning

Statistics
Place: 21 out of 432
Avg (all users): 6.2518
Avg (commenters): 6.9333
Avg (participants): 6.0647
Avg (non-participants): 6.4388
Views since voting: 1019
Views during voting: 385
Votes: 278
Comments: 36
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 10/05/2005 01:40:45 AM
Thank you for your critique Matthew
Very helpful
 09/19/2005 02:20:54 AM
Critique Club

Hello from the Critique Club!

This is quite a stunning subject matter. An excellent choice, with "branch" being obvious on several levels. The lighting is great, as you have taken the picture at a time with some good side lighting (early morning or evening?), which has thrown shadows of the branches onto the webs, and lines the edges of the branches very nicely (almost a sun kissed silhouette).

The trouble with subjects like this ( which are intensely interesting) is how far to document them (ie get everything in) and how far to limit the extent of the image but capture the essence of it in an image - the latter will often be a better photo, at the expense of not recording the whole moment for posterity. I think that this image records an amazing scene well, but falls down a little on recording its "essence".

Compositionally, the visually stimulating parst of the image appear (to me) to be the centre of each of the webs in strong light and the largest of the branches. I would be very tempted to move in with the camera and fill the frame with just these (probably trying to follow the Rule of Thirds rule). I would experiment with moving in much closer and filling the frame with the webs, and taking photos of just one web in focus with the others in the background. The bits of web at the side of the image and away from the tree are interesting from a documentary point of view, but less so from a strength of image perspective.

One of my main aims with this subject would be to get one or more webs into focus, some branches into focus, but to get that background out of focus (outside the Depth of Field). As others have commented, there is so much detail in the background that it detracts from the focal point of the image. It is not attractive enough or plain enough to leave in the image.

You have some technical limitations with your camera in selecting a shallower DoF, but there are ways around it. I think that any portrait mode would be one of the better modes to use, combined with getting closer to your subject. At an extreme, you could see what you could do with the macro mode.

In any case, this is a strong image that rightfully did well.

Good luck with the next challenge!

Matthew
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/14/2005 09:14:42 AM
Wow!!! That is awesome! have you got a shot of the webs up close. I would have so much fun with those. LOL Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/13/2005 05:56:52 PM
Great lighting. Very difficult to capture all those webs angled in different directions. Warm and soft...nicely done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/13/2005 05:17:16 PM
wow....thats all ive got.... wow....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/13/2005 02:52:43 AM
Now this is an unusal capture. It's a shame that the fence in the background slightly ruins this image. I think it would have looked superb in black and white with a black background, or maybe even a closer/macro shot of a single web clinging to a branch to place the background out of focus. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/13/2005 01:29:09 AM
Wow. The light hits it just "so" and it looks almost fake. Very cool.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/12/2005 04:56:28 PM
Interesting image, should have sprayed a little glycerin and water on the web.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/12/2005 04:41:10 PM
icky spider webs but still a nice photo good lights and darks you maximized the greatness for this 1
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/12/2005 04:09:19 PM
Really neat-looking picture. It's original and interesting to look at. I like it alot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/12/2005 08:32:26 AM
Great capture, busy spider.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/11/2005 09:49:55 PM
While -as I'm sure you know- this has been dones many times, your lighting and texures really make yours stand out. I cant help but wonder, however, if the imaged would have been improved by taking the picture through one of the webs looking at the others... just an idea...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/11/2005 07:41:21 AM
This shot has great potential. Since the color of the fence doesn't add anything to the shot, I think I'd go with black and white, boost the contrast and those wonderful spider webs would really POP. The light is well done to showcase them with the existing monochromatic theme. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/11/2005 06:24:07 AM
Wow! I can't think of anything to say. That's usually good :) I really like the way this picture is bright. So many others would have tried to put a dark cast on it and it may have been a great picture too, but it wouldn't have been the same. This is a picture about brightness, lightness, creative workmanship and interesting design.

A bit too much is sliced off the right side. I would have cropped down another millimeter to get the top horizontal slat off on the top right.

Fine work. Good eye. Glad you were quick to shutter, but slow to broom.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/10/2005 07:00:01 PM
Nice web shot... I hope you explained how you get them so well in here. A touch of color would be welcome, but this is very good as is too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/10/2005 10:17:54 AM
wow, cool picture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/10/2005 06:30:59 AM
OMG - how cool is that!! I night-time shot might have been a little darker (of course - lol), but mood darker ...anyway great shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/10/2005 04:23:51 AM
A well caught effect, but loses a lot of impact with the fence in the background, and could be composed better with less enthuastic crop.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/09/2005 03:47:02 PM
That's cool but the spiderwebs look fake. Nice lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/09/2005 01:06:01 PM
Wow, that's a lot of spider webs!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/09/2005 03:18:57 AM
Gorgeous. Lighting is excellent. Looks very oriental. Nice capture. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/09/2005 02:41:47 AM
6 - Indeed it is, but I think you have not 'grasped' the full potential within this 'set'. Criticism; I would like to have seen either a much tighter crop, different angle, possibly even close enough that only one or two webs/branches were in the frame. The back fence (?), especially the posts/rails, detract too much from this shot. There is just a lot more potential here in my opinion that is not captured.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/09/2005 01:29:54 AM
Great concept for the challenge. The branches are the supporting pieces, but that works well here since without them the webs could not stay standing. Technically a little flat. Not sure how you'd get better perspective...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/08/2005 07:29:19 PM
The coloring is a little odd, but the lighting effect on the webs is neat!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/08/2005 07:09:41 PM
Wow. How did oyu get them to do that? ;) Very interesting image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/08/2005 06:20:41 PM
This is my pick for 1st. I'll be disappointed if it doesn't make top 3. Congrats on a great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/08/2005 04:57:13 PM
OMG... that's interesting. and scary!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 08:19:45 PM
I'd like the photo better if the background was black, or some other solid color. The wood in the background is distracting and too similar to the branches. I like the webs, however.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 06:31:47 PM
WOW.... love the capture.. although kinda makes my skin crawl... thats a whole lotta 'Piders for my liking LOL ... I've tried getting spider webs and didnt get nearly the detail you did.. Great job .. thanks for sharing
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 05:53:52 PM
Very cool tree and webs. For me, I find the fence background detracts from the tree. Nice tone on tone quality to your photo though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 03:28:30 PM
holy cow...so many spider webs. very neat picture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 09:21:06 AM
my wife woult hate your backyard. very interesting shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 08:18:58 AM
very interesting capture. I wish the colors were a little more lively.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/07/2005 04:19:01 AM
sorry, they look fake
 09/06/2005 09:21:05 PM
GREAT capture! How cool! Would like to see a bit more color & contrast, but very good eye for spotting this!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/06/2005 09:09:31 PM
This reminded me of arachniphobia.... so beautiful. Its simple and complicated and truely a great capture. I know how hard it is to get "just the right lighting" for this pick.... wow
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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