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Jennifer Wise's picture

Grass Seed Heads

Speedwell Forge County Park, Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA

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4 Comments

Lovely verdant atmoshpere here, Jennifer! I like the way you've isolated the near left stem against a soft background the provides all the context you need. Nice job.

I'm ambivalent about the mirror-image right stem. I might also have tried a composition that omitted or downplayed it, or perhaps darkened it in post so it caught less attention. But maybe I'd have found that it just makes the shot! It's your image and vision.

Hi Chris, I think you are totally correct about either eliminating or deemphasizing that other seed head head. Eliminating it would mean cropping a little which would be fine, but I like your 2nd edit better (fading the other seed head). I kept asking myself what it is that bothers me about my original image, and you nailed it! Thank you, Chris. I appreciate all the help I can get seeing things in different ways. Hope you are well, enjoying your new year, and staying warm wherever you are. Your Friend, Jenny S:o)

Thanks, Jennifer. It's the height of summer here, and we're just between heat waves!

One general "technique" which I think is worth remembering in the field, Jennifer, is to take variant compositions.

Too often, I've come home and wished I'd moved a bit, or even tried a different focal length, and don't have the image I could have made.

Although I "dial in" or "get in the zone" after a while, and make better images at a location than when I first arrive, it's still possible to lose perspective, and after a while fatigue clouds judgment. Then, those extra images can prove valuable.

Hey Chris! I just saw this reply today. The weather has been not so hot around here lately; so I bought a new notebook and started organizing/recopying all of my notes. Just added yours to the composition section - take variant compositions. I do what you said a lot - come home wishing I had taken several different perspectives.

So you're in the southern hemisphere - if it's summer there.

Hope you are well, and thanks for taking the time to teach. I appreciate it!