Photographer's Comment: is Futile. I thought about this one for the weekly challenge, but it was shot well before the time frame, so it goes here, instead. I was fascinated to find, during the edit/cull process of the day's take, the way the shadow plane and the leaf's undulating matrix seem to crossover, blended visually. I added some contrast and some color enhancements to take the image into conceptual territory. This is one of a series of leaves and gestures I've been gathering this Fall.

Tags: Leaf Leaves Fall Season Illusion Mystic mystical Nature

Viewer Comments:

By NowYesNow (2008-01-15 16:21:57 ): Thanks, Beatrice, for the specifics. I suppose we all strive, or hope, for the big Wow image, but I'm often satisfied, short term, with a nice little "hey, interesting; look at this, eh?" Perhaps, yes, a work-still-in-progress... I have an idea or two for new versions.

By BeatriceFriedli (2008-01-15 14:48:12 ): comp wise, I like the flow of lines and use of shadows. It's a good image. Not exactly grabbing me and wowing me. It's different which I like. But not something that I would hang on my wall. Maybe it's the subject that doesn't grab my attention or the harsh light/tones. personal taste.

By NowYesNow (2008-01-15 10:08:41 ): I did have a sense of this one as not resolved, though, and thought that perhaps feedback would prompt some new choices I hadn't thought of. My further question, though, has to do with how non-photographers would see the image, too. Of course PWS may not be the best forum for catching that kind of fish, here, but.. some of the newer posters/members might have less technical formality in their response to the occassional experimental lure. ____________________________ This might be a good place to declare what I'm looking for, and what I find as a result of looking for it, from critique. I haven't read all the links about Critique recently posted in response to Bea's WTD?? query in the forum. I shan't read them, either, since I'm clear what I'm looking for. ****The word is Feedback****. Specifically.. what do you See in my image? not what you'd do with it or what I "shoulda done", but what effect does the image have with you? what do you notice/perceive when you look at it... either first glance or longer study.. either is useful, especially if I know which it is. I've left many a detailed comment that gave me time to experience a shift in what I could see in the poster's photo by the time I was done commenting. What you see tells me what I amy have succeeded in doing, whether it's what I wanted to do or not. If I can hear a larger "sampling" of impressions, I can likely trust that the feedback is not limited specifically to A "beholder". Your lone critique gives me some of that, and I take it under advisement... as I would anyone elses'.... anyone? Beuller? Beuller?

By NowYesNow (2008-01-15 10:04:13 ): Well, Doug, Spoken like a photographer. I was waiting for others to chime in, but since the time has passed for that to occur naturally, I'll just go ahead and thank you for your input/critique/feedback. I was aware that the image could be taken Way further into total abstraction, though that wasn't my intent. I have even offered similar suggestions to another PWS member, I seem to remember, about taking the image further than they did. So.. Karma, I guess, eh? ..and...Fishing... is what I'm doing, of course, by submitting an image for critique? Right? LOL. As for the specifics you list, I'll just say there was no actual sharpening done, and yes, I see how it does Look like sharpening was the cause of the contrasty tonal/color breaks.. though Actually it was the result of using the blending sliders in Photoshop layers, in this case. Since sharpening/oversharpening is a result of local contrast enhancement when it IS done, the effect is a definite "crispening" of the details, as it looks like I had done, here. I had not sharpened --not even in Adobe's Lightroom. Looking amateurish, though, would seem to get in the way of my intent, instead of fulfilling it. I think it's an interesting time for photographic imagery, since today's work looks different, typically, from what we got used to considering as "a photograph". I get glossy-eyed or want to yawn, too, when I see over-saturated, over-tone-mapped digital images in so many places, as if the world actually looked like that to the average brain. I am fairly quick to dismiss it, myself, before looking more closely. However, since the rules are no longer the rules, hey.. let's play. In This image, I'm looking to enhance that sense of dimensional crossover between the leaf and the triangular shadow shape in this one, and simply may not have found a best way to feature that without distraction. I'm not usually choosing to straddle a fence, though neither am I tied to either end of the spectrum.

By DougWilkening (2008-01-14 12:31:29 ): You said you were going for a new conceptual territory, but I think what you have actually done is make it look just oversharpened, over-saturated and over-contrasty. This is because the adjustments do not go far enough to bring the image into art or abstraction, just enough to make it look like too heavy a hand on the PS controls. I think that for your leaf series you will need to "either fish or cut bait". That is, decide whether you want to go with a realistic nature look or a truly abstract look, and stay off the middle-ground fence.

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