“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.” ― Kobayashi Issa, Poems
Please critique if there are ideas to make it more attractive. Best wishes.
Cherry Blossom
“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.” ― Kobayashi Issa, Poems
Please critique if there are ideas to make it more attractive. Best wishes.
Really like this image, super soft and delicate.
There are a number of things I really like about this image. First off, the composition is good- it's well balanced and it's attractive (most of the time I can't explain why I like or don't like a certain composition, I just do. Or I don't. This one I like). Composition, to me, is the heart and soul of a good photograph, and is the hardest to nail, and you've done that well.
The colors are pleasing- very soothing, there's a certain type of room upon the wall of which I can imagine this hanging.
Just enough green, but not too much. Perhaps I would push the vibrance of the pink a little bit.
The major thing that, in my opinion, would improve this photograph would be slightly sharper focus on the buds in the center of the image. The Bokeh here is good, but I feel as if you've deliberately softened the center of the image. I don't know if I would have made that choice. I think a more stark contrast between a sharp center and OOF peripheral elements would enhance the dreamlike quality of the image.
I don't know what sort of camera, nor what lens you shoot, but if you shoot mirrorless or APS-C, this might be a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the idiosyncrasies of some older manual lenses which have interesting focus "issues." I'm thinking maybe a lydith if you want similar bokeh and don't mind contrast, or a helios if you want the bokeh to get mad swirly.
If you can shoot this again that might be interesting.
"Composition, to me, is the heart and soul of a good photograph, and is the hardest to nail, and you've done that well." Well put, and I very much agree, Ryan!
Many things to like, perhaps a bit too soft for me but you can't beat a Haiku and some cherry blossom.
The softness of the image echoes the petal texture which is quite lovely. I do wish there was just a tiny bit more sharpness somewhere in the image because it makes it easier to find a "heart" of the picture and something to focus on.
My sincere thanks to everyone for comments and kind words.
I tried to capture the softness and delicate nature of cherry blossom in processing of photo and it seems, it has been successful. Here in Toronto we get lovely display of blossoms in High Park downtown and it marks the end of long Canadian winter.
I am learning not just clicking the shutter with sharpest lens but trying to reproduce the joy I feel when surrounded by wonderful nature. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes just end up with spoiled snapshot. Always an interesting adventure...
I will see if sharpness can be increased in center to draw the eyes as suggested. It is older photo, will have to go back and remember how it was processed.
Best wishes everyone.
I take a lot of flower photos myself, and looking very closely at this image, I'm not 100% convinced it is 100% out of focus; just the focus plane is extremely narrow. So narrow that the foreground and background of the plane quickly bokeh-out; coupled with a soft color palette.. Gives the effect the entire image is out of focus.
For me, personally, this works.
But if you wanted to try something, perhaps a 0.25 to 0.75 pixel highpass filter overlay (depending on the resolution of the image); but any more then that and the image may loose more then it gains.
Thanks you Joe. It is 300 mm close up from DX camera d7100. So yes, the dof is quite narrow. Will try as you suggested.