Big thumbs up. Really nice.

If we're going to armchair compose, I'd say next time considering moving the droplet down and to the left, leaving more out-of-focus area in the upper right. But that it nitpicking.

Thanks Mat

Okay, a quick test chop ...


A little more 'thirdsy' I guess.

I think I'd rather bring the larger in-focus pool down to the lower right a little to a 'thirdsy' position but then zoom in a little to have the second pool sit right-of-centre to counter-balance. I'll definitely play with the composition a little tonight.

But, to be honest, I'm just thrilled that you guys liked it : )


-Gary

__________________
"I'm a G1, and shallow flange depth was my idea"

gary i think having the other large 'pool' is integral to the sucess of your image at this point the original is better imho.

ok gary , ill play if you promise not to laugh........

a tiny bit of desaturation and a bit of crop to decenter the focusded central pool



now gary ,in the interest of fariness , i give permission to adjust one or two of my images in the gallery , any one except portraits please , what id really like to see is improvement in the photos of the firefighting photos , which im less than happy with

Yeah, I thought so too... I edited the above post to say as much.

I guessed at a more balanced thirdsy composition... like this...



Better ?

edit: LOL - we are playing leap-frog with the posts : ))) We had a similar idea for the more 'balanced' crop although I do prefer yours as mine is, on reflection, a little too tight. I like the desatch although I might be just a touch less aggressive with it (personal preference I guess)

Thanks for the input Cosina : ) Definite improvement.


-Gary

__________________
"I'm a G1, and shallow flange depth was my idea"

i thought de saturation would help but on that point i feel your greater saturation makes for a better photo at the end of the day , looking at them side by side , i like the more saturated one better ..... , also im not thrilled wiith my crop either but decentralizing the focal [ not focus] point has some merit, but i supect a better crop awaits

and it remains a powerful image,even if you leave it as you first presented it here

No, I think you've pretty much nailed it. The crop is far more balanced this way.

I think the large droplet in a rather 'thirdsy' bottom-right position leaving the second drop right-of-centre has great merit. I might desaturate just the tiniest bit too, although it is going into a portfolio of flowers which are quite vibrant already... so I do need some strength of colour for this image to compete well with the rest.


-Gary

__________________
"I'm a G1, and shallow flange depth was my idea"

Gary, I think the original composition is just fine. Sometimes I think that deliberately bowing to the rule of thirds is a mistake. If it naturally falls into place that's great but to deliberately contrive it can result in a contrived looking composition. If every photo we took was a perfect example of the rule of thirds wouldn't they all start to look a little boring?

Your picture is a wonderful example of making an ordinary subject look fresh and interesting. The only reservation I have is that maybe it's just a tad oversharpened, but that usually comes down to personal preference. I really like it.

__________________
View my ebook, The Light Fantastic at: http://store.blurb.co.uk/ebooks/3026...ight-fantastic

John