Eastern Columbine

Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction

Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.

Questions to guide your feedback

The morning following some afternoon showers dawned bright and clear, so I went to check on the Eastern Columbine which was just starting to bloom. The Eastern Columbine is an elegant flower so I wanted to support the flower’s elegance with the surroundings. The large and small buds promise more flowers in the days to come. This is a 15 shot stack at f/11 to get bloom nicely sharp and while minimizing the overlap issues that are inherent in stacking.

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Elegance!! In the detail, the light, the colors, the balance – a wonderful capture with great processing.

These are a favorite of mine so thanks for posting since I won’t see any around here for a couple of months yet. They are elegant and so hard to shoot that I’m amazed you got 15 shots for a stack. I like the two that are in focus, but the OOF bud is a tough thing to ignore in this photo despite that red beauty. The way you’ve framed it with the yellow behind works really well and the drops on the little leaves are a nice touch.

As Kris suggested (I think), I would prefer it without the oof bud - for simplicity, composition, and just the beauty of the flower. Then this would really sing to me. Reading later your “Questions”, I get your idea of the buds suggesting future flowers, but I think you only need the smaller bud to do this for you.