water-1.jpgby
TajhadComment by LucidLotus: First, when I looked through your portfolio I noticed a number of interesting images but the one that grabbed my attention was this one.
I absolutely love the color combinations here. The blue is soft and cooling and the sparks of orange really add a smooth contrast, finishing off with the punch of white. I could easily see this as a Zen entry.
I thik the lighting here is good. You've managed to get some dappled lighting on the water in areas and the flowers look well lit as well. I really like the fact that there is also a shadow across the water as that keeps the image from being too sparkly and bright, allowing the colors to work together and not be overpowered. Some might find the shadows distracting since they are not stretching across the entire image, but I'd disagree and think it adds a nice dimension and another area of contrast for the viewer to explore.
The focus looks excellent, the flowers are well defined and the little bits floating with them are easily seen. That said it looks like there may be a bit too much sharpening. I don't know if that's the case, but some of the floating bits feel extra contrasty and I tend to see that when I start to sharpen things too much. There's a bit of haloing around some of them too which is noticeable when you're really examining the photo. Perhaps a re-process that addressed this?
I think the composition is perfect. I really wouldn't change anything at all. The position of the flowers is off-center which adds a bit of drama. Though there are clearly bits floating around and darker bits on the bottom of the pool aka background, it still retains a feeling of negative space for me, which helps isolate those flowers and makes them pop even more. I love the background here as well. In another image it may seem much too busy, but I think it works extremely well and adds a foil for the crisp, cleaner colors the floating items create.
I do wonder how adding a thicker black border around this would look, I think it would smarten it up just a bit, giving us an edge that keeps our eyes in and framing the whole piece nicely. I don't think the image requires a border by any means, but I think this is one where the border (providing you chose a good color - i.e. not white!) would be a positive supporting item rather than a detraction.
I could very easily see this as a print on someone's wall, with or without a border added!
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