A few weeks ago in a botanical garden (Bergianska) in Stockholm, Sweden I found an area with this types of leaves. I searched for a rather long time to find this composition. I liked a lot the shapes, and the white flower become the icing on the cake. I also like that the black hole in the middle of the major leaf somewhat contrast but at the same time balance the flower. Already at site my vision was to render the image in B&W.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any comments are welcome!
Technical Details
1/15, f/16, ISO 400 Olympus OM-D EM1X with 40-150 mm @ 125 mm (250 mm equiv.)
The composition where made at site, only sligthly cropped during post-processing. There are several ways to post-process this image. You could bring out a lot of structure, but I adopted the contrary to make the leaves more smooth matching the beatiful and delicate shape/curves of the leaves. The B&W conversion where made applying the “More silver” preset in Nik Silver Efex.
Oh this was worth hunting around for. Great swirling patterns and the flower placed so perfectly. One thing you could try is to darken the slices of the leaf below to match each other - particularly on either side of the white flower. That way the distribution of the holes in the top layer is more even. Just a thought. I think leaving the texture low works nicely since the leaves are so broad and smooth, although I could see taking down the shadows on them just a tiny bit. You could play at darkening the stem in the URC, too, but it’s so personal. Super shot and I really like your thought process from field to finish.
Such a neat image, Ola. The B&W really works for this too. I like the swirls going on, and as @Mark_Seaver pointed out, the almost hidden flowers. Very nice.
Fantastic!! An array of gorgeous lines and shapes, with that little flower so perfectly positioned! I LOVE the B/W, which lets me enjoy the shapes and light!
Good though from @Kris_Smith about darkening the under layer to the left of the flower and on left of that at the edge.
Beautifully seen @Ola_Jovall The swirl of the large leaf is like a massive wave that sweeps you along, strongly and yet gently, to the location of the blossom and your B&W processing brings out a metallic feel that makes those leaves look they were made by a skillfull silversmith. Really exquisite.
Hosta leaves make such beautiful subjects - they are so expressive - and you’ve captured these beautifully. I think your choice for monochrome and how you’ve down played contrast and texture and focused more on the line have worked very well. I would concur with @Kris_Smith 's suggestion to darken the areas to the left of the flower to add to the overall balance.
Wonderful! As Kris said, the distribution of the dark areas now adds another point of interest – not that it really needed any more, but more is always better!!
Definitely strengthens an already strong image. That being said, I wouldn’t hesitate to darken even a little more to be more of a match with the shadows on the right side and lower left.
@Diane_Miller, @Kris_Smith and @Kerry_Gordon glad you liked the rework. Kerry, I will explore your recommendation. Kris, I have not yet started to print my images, but when I do this is a candidate!
