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Winter garden - seed heads

janet Smith

pro member
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I love winter, I enjoy shooting into the low winter sun, and still enjoy the garden even in this cold weather, the shapes and textures of the dead plants and seed heads become the focus of attention, rather than the bright colours of summer. Let me know what you think of these please.....
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief


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Janet,

These crowds of winter seed heads provide a distribution of interest from sharply defined to the most fluid wisps of suggestion, adding a poetry of shapes deep, very deep, into the picture. It's paradoxically, your choice of a narrow depth of focus that in fact gives rise to an impression of infinite congregations of plants.

You work is always enjoyable.

Asher

The tints of blue in the snow covering or diffused skylight adds some different dance dresses than the pink in Mike Spinak's nature pictures here, post # 4. His world is much tinier!
 
Jan, as Asher points out, your choice of aperture effectively isolates your foreground subject. The results invite the viewer to wonder about the past, and then anticipate the future.

Were the seed heads in the third photo from coneflowers?
 

janet Smith

pro member
a distribution of interest from sharply defined to the most fluid wisps of suggestion, adding a poetry of shapes deep, very deep, into the picture.

Hi Asher

Thank you - what a lovely description.....

It's been very cold here for almost 2 weeks now, it was about -8 degrees when I took the third picture, the colours were muted by the frost, sunlight breaking through a slight mist, I was unsure about this one at first, but it's grown to be one of my favourites from the last few weeks.
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, Jan,

Three very different works, all lovely.

I especially like number 1.

I hope that the holiday season has been a joyous one for you and yours, and that the new year will bring success in every way.
 

John Angulat

pro member
Hi Jan,
All three are splendid!
I especially like the third composition. The subtle blue cast really catches my eye.
To me, the DOF is perfect. There's enough of the foreground in focus so we can enjoy the details.
Very well done!
 

janet Smith

pro member
Three very different works, all lovely.

I especially like number 1.

I hope that the holiday season has been a joyous one for you and yours, and that the new year will bring success in every way.

Hi Doug

Thank you for your kind comments, I'm pleased you like my seed heads, yes we've had a lovely Christmas thank you, hectic but really nice, my best wishes to you and yours too.....
 

janet Smith

pro member
All three are splendid!
I especially like the third composition. The subtle blue cast really catches my eye.
To me, the DOF is perfect. There's enough of the foreground in focus so we can enjoy the details.
Very well done!

Hi John

Thank you - yes the blue cast works well doesn't it, it was freezing (still is!) I enjoy shooting into the light and working with shallow DOF, glad to know you like them.

BTW really glad you're back here with us......
 
Janet,

I particularly like the third one. Of the three, it is the only one that tells me something about the scale of the local environment. for me. it's as much about the place as it is the seed heads...wonderful comp.
 

janet Smith

pro member
I particularly like the third one. Of the three, it is the only one that tells me something about the scale of the local environment. for me. it's as much about the place as it is the seed heads...wonderful comp.


Thank you Winston, I appreciate your comments, and I'm pleased that the gentle quiet mood of this area seems to have been conveyed....
 
I love winter, I enjoy shooting into the low winter sun, and still enjoy the garden even in this cold weather, the shapes and textures of the dead plants and seed heads become the focus of attention, rather than the bright colours of summer. Let me know what you think of these please.....

Hi Jan,

I especially like the light in #3. Together with the DOF it gives a 3D feeling to the image. The color contrast between the warm colored stems (which brings them to the foreground), and the cold tint of the frost (which recedes to the back) also helps. The overall composition is just strong enough to make the image complete.

Cheers,
Bart
 

Rachel Foster

New member
Jan, it's startling how often we shoot the same things! I've been enchanted with such scenes since I first started shooting. It's lovely (and eerie) to see how similar our choices are.
 

janet Smith

pro member
I especially like the light in #3. Together with the DOF it gives a 3D feeling to the image. The color contrast between the warm colored stems (which brings them to the foreground), and the cold tint of the frost (which recedes to the back) also helps. The overall composition is just strong enough to make the image complete

Hi Bart

Thank you for commenting, I agree, it's the DOF and the cold frostiness that makes this one work, glad you like it....
 

janet Smith

pro member
This second shot really is a winner for me, great light, subject, colour and composition. Nice one.

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Hi Paul

Sorry for the delay in responding but I've been away in Gran Canaria, just got back, landing in snowy Manchester was a bit hair raising, but we're back now and had a great time....

Thank you for your comments, this one is my favourite out of these so I'm really glad you like it.

Fahim, thank you too, I'm delighted you like them so much.

I've been up in the mountains in Gran Canaria overlooking Tenerife with palm trees and lemon trees, back now to snow and woolly socks instead of flipflops, sat here with a pashmina round my shoulders, but I'll be back out in the snow tomorrow, so snowy and sunny hot shots to follow!!!!
 
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