Sad Girl was created last summer but processed for a this submission. I used my Nikon D810 camera and my 70-200 Tamron lens. Focal Length was 200mm, shot at F/8 with shutter speed at 1/100, ISO 100. I think the shutter speed was an accident. I usually like to increase the shutter speed on sunny days to make the sky appear bluer and also to stop the action when there is a little wind. I was carrying a bunch of things in the field and might have bumped the shutter accidentally. I didn’t do much to the photo other than the crop and color correction in Adobe Bridge and use of levels in Photoshop. I liked the way the petals framed her face. She seemed to stand out in the crowd of other flowers. This field, along with lots of other fields is a short drive east of my homeā”lucky me.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 7 comments posted
Karl Leck
Hi Marie, I love sunflower fields although they are hit-n-miss in our area as farmers rotate crops. This is a great combination of an older flower and all the bright young ones behind. Quite a contrast. The petals are like a tattered scarf around the flower face. You did a beautiful job opening the shadows. Perhaps cropping out the sky and a little bit of the bottom would simplify the image although that's not necessary. I always use a polarizer in sunlight garden photography to help reduce reflections from leaves and make them more naturally green.
Karl Posted: 06/09/2020 13:35:09
Thanks Karl,
Yes, it does look better without the sky, thanks. It would probably look better if I burned in some of the leaves as well. There are many sunflower fields where I live. I look forward to them every year. Posted: 06/09/2020 21:12:24
Lovely image Marie. Great little story in the old versus new. Karl has again posted great comments and I agree that the sky does nothing to enhance this. It's about the flowers. Just a little note, beware of horizon lines that are not straight. A crooked horizon will always draw the eye. You've done a great job with composition! I wonder if you could have removed the out of focus leaf in the foreground with PS Content Aware Move tool. Sometimes it does a great job, but other times, not so good. Very nice. Posted: 06/12/2020 00:35:18
Judith Lesnaw
I like the girl's meditative, weary pose, and the leaf coming out of the top of her hat like a feather decoration. Cropping out the sky, and removing the bright blurred leaf at the bottom are great ideas. The bright flowers in the background bokeh seem cherrie and provide excellent contrast to the "Sad Girl". Posted: 06/12/2020 22:27:57
I love the original one better, Marie! I think the cooler color let viewer calm and have more place to saturate our emotions related to sadness, and darkness also can become a focal point rather than light up, maybe make darker and cooler let the tears burst out of the field? :)
Posted: 06/12/2020 22:59:46
Great shot and interpretation. I really like what you did in post processing, as it clarifies and highlights the main subject. While I love the lower leafs, if it had been mine, I would have tried to remove the one coming out of her head and clone the background flowers to that spot, if I could have succeeded in doing that, which is doubtful! Posted: 06/13/2020 19:28:53
Lauren Heerschap
Good catch and work on getting the flower seeds to be lightened. They could still use a bit more light. I agree, the sky isn't necessary, the sight of a field like this for a city girl like me is impressive - so many flowers! My sunflower seeds are still green shoots...we need more sun in Seattle. Posted: 06/21/2020 13:41:02
