Greetings from the Critique Club!
I concur with all of the positive statements below!
In this image, these peppers really do resemble fingers. It seems to me to be, ultimately, an abstract shot, and this is further emphasized by your narrow depth of field and lack of any one or group of peppers which has sharp focus.
The use of many diagonal lines give the photo some interest and drama, and the fact that they are randomly diagonal and go off in many directions provides a more natural feel.
You have made some interesting lighting choices here, too. Some peppers are quite harshly lit and overexposed, and this adds to the feeling of randomness and abstractness I feel when I study it. Most of the lighting, however, is warm and friendly and interesting and help to add shape and form to the peppers.
I find few distractions in this photograph. I like the way my eye wanders around and investigates the forms, colors and shapes found in it. Had you had the entire bulk of peppers in focus, it would have been distracting, so I agree with your choice of soft focus on everything, for I feel it contributes to the abstract look. Since we can still tell quite well that these are peppers, however, the abstract nature is somewhat undermined, thus leading to the discrepancy in some voters' minds that at least SOMETHING should have been in focus. One suggestion, that may or may not be the right one here, is to make sure that if you break a rule, break it enthusiastically so everyone knows that it was a deliberate choice and not a sloppy oversight.
Again, nice work! I really enjoy this! If you have any questions, just ask!
David |