Flowers & Plants Critique ⇒ Wind Above Whiffen Spit- Something Different

[minniev]

On this cliff above the strait of Juan de Fuca, you look down on Whiffen Spit, a sandy hook that extends from Sooke, BC. That is, if you can stand up. It's a kind of wind tunnel there most of the time. I found these daisies and grasses on the slope and sat amongst them fooling with shutter speeds to try and capture the wind. There is seldom any wind here in MS unless you count the tornados so it was a fun experiment, especially shooting into the sun like this. Of course I don't know if any of the 20 or so images (some with more or less blur in different spots) have any interest. Here's one, for discussion and advice.

[pop511]

Not sure about this one Minni. The Daisies being white are the first thing my eyes look at, but being a small element it doesn't hold me. So is it a scenic look?
Shoot and focus on your one element that attracted you?
The picture becomes much stronger if cropped just above the daises.
Kind regards;

[PietFrancke]

the daisies look superb with that yellow background - I am agreeing with Ed that much depends on what you choose to have as your subject and then compose accordingly. My list below, but as always, very personal and each case the mileage varies based on preference and personality.

1) daisies against yellow - doesn't need the scene behind - perhaps even a more narrow focus and higher speed.
2) Yellows against blue - very pretty, but I would further blur the background, and perhaps for that the daisies detract.
3) as a Landscape, perhaps frame an edge with a tree and have less hillside and stronger focus throughout.
4) Your scene, daisies, yellow, blue. If you stood a hair taller, the top daisy wouldn't land on the edge between the yellows and the background. If you were a hair lower, some daisies would have a blue background and some yellow, but the hero daisy landing on the edge hurt.

[Psjunkie]

While a nice image, I'm just not feeling the wind you were hoping for......and have no suggestion to capture it

[minniev]

Not sure about this one Minni. The Daisies being white are the first thing my eyes look at, but being a small element it doesn't hold me. So is it a scenic look?
Shoot and focus on your one element that attracted you?
The picture becomes much stronger if cropped just above the daises.
Kind regards;

I appreciate your feedback. I'll look at some of the others and see what other crops I have. The complementary colors seduced me to want the orange and blue in the frame together. Of course my downfall is my desire to keep too much in the frame. Not sure I'll ever be cured of it...

[minniev]

the daisies look superb with that yellow background - I am agreeing with Ed that much depends on what you choose to have as your subject and then compose accordingly. My list below, but as always, very personal and each case the mileage varies based on preference and personality.

1) daisies against yellow - doesn't need the scene behind - perhaps even a more narrow focus and higher speed.
2) Yellows against blue - very pretty, but I would further blur the background, and perhaps for that the daisies detract.
3) as a Landscape, perhaps frame an edge with a tree and have less hillside and stronger focus throughout.
4) Your scene, daisies, yellow, blue. If you stood a hair taller, the top daisy wouldn't land on the edge between the yellows and the background. If you were a hair lower, some daisies would have a blue background and some yellow, but the hero daisy landing on the edge hurt.

Thanks for all these ideas! Points well taken. You know I always put too much in the frame. I'll take a look at some of the others, I was crawling all over the ground in that orange stuff so have some various arrangements in the frames.

[minniev]

While a nice image, I'm just not feeling the wind you were hoping for......and have no suggestion to capture it

I was afraid of that. No one can tell me how to take a picture of wind...

[pop511]

Minnie;
Another great discussion. The more I become involved, the more I question myself and learn.
"No one can tell me how to take a picture of wind..."
Well....No you can't. It is only where something is being affected by it. Either natural or implanted Eg: people leaning forward, apparel movement. Throwing sticks across the frame into the air will give that impression, but that is movement against a static background. The grass looks as if it were just growing that way.
Daises;
Lay on the ground and picture up into the sky. Carry a small black reflector and place behind flower, either very close or behind a few stalks of grass.
Attached picture;
Sorry for the colour shift. I should have left profile alone when importing.
Lasso tool around flora. Radial blurr. Centre point, lower left. Reduce layer opacity to taste. Black brush on daises in mask.
Could have gone further and bend the tips of the trees.
I realise that I have moved from where you started, so don't go too hard on this old man.
Have fun;

[pop511]

A bit more extreme, but still fun.
New layer
Massive amounts of gaussian blur. Blend mode screen
Burn tool on distant areas

[St3v3M]

On this cliff above the strait of Juan de Fuca, you look down on Whiffen Spit, a sandy hook that extends from Sooke, BC. That is, if you can stand up. It's a kind of wind tunnel there most of the time. I found these daisies and grasses on the slope and sat amongst them fooling with shutter speeds to try and capture the wind. There is seldom any wind here in MS unless you count the tornados so it was a fun experiment, especially shooting into the sun like this. Of course I don't know if any of the 20 or so images (some with more or less blur in different spots) have any interest. Here's one, for discussion and advice.

Color, composition, but where's the story, what am I to focus on? You have yellow, so why not make lemonade and push it? S-