# Flower in B&W



## PixelRabbit (Sep 10, 2012)

Flowers for me is a love hate relationship.  It is way too easy to take a standard "pretty" flower shot but I still want to shoot them.
Today I challenged myself by not using colour, this is the one I liked best.

I like the light and how the subject looks different than those surrounding it. I dislike how abrupt the right side is.
Would love to hear your thoughts


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 10, 2012)

I'm going to add this one, I keep looking at it and going hmmm...


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## Parker219 (Sep 10, 2012)

99% of the time I cant stand black and white flower pictures.  I think this is that other 1%.  You somehow made these pictures interesting, even being the black and white. Some might say that the sun is over-powering, but I personally like it, in these pictures anyway.

Very nice!


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## Trever1t (Sep 10, 2012)

the crop in the first one is a definite no, for me. The second crop is much better but yes, the sun is a distraction. 

I opened the page not expecting much, a colorless flower makes me think of tasteless food, poi or raw tofu (yes, I know) but I see now a colorless flower can look kinda cool, thank you.


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## charlie76 (Sep 10, 2012)

I think because this really isn't a flower picture!  I don't see flowers as the main subject of this image at all!  If anything, it's the stems.  This is a composition with various elements...the flowers are just one aspect. Cool shot.

Comments above refer to the second image...didn't see the first


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 10, 2012)

Thanks guys, I'm glad it is successful on some levels. Trever, I'm iffy on that crop too, I wish I had more room to add on the right but alas I only have left left.  I'll take a look through the shots again and see if I have more in one of them, I'm really close to really liking that one.
As for the sun in the second I like the balance that it gives as an element but not how bright it is (lol yes I know how goofy that sounds), it competes, so again... I'm torn.


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## yerlem (Sep 10, 2012)

I really really like the second one, a million times more interesting than a normal flower photo


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 10, 2012)

Thanks Yerlem


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## Sherm (Sep 11, 2012)

I like the perspective on both and using the black and white adds to that.


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 11, 2012)

Thanks Sherm


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## Jaemie (Sep 11, 2012)

These both work very well, but #2 has better composition. In both, the additional leaves, flowers, trees, whatever, seem to distract too much from the wonderful main flower and its lovely stem (or flowers and stems). The B&W is great. The perspective is intriguing - like a small animal's view! The sun adds life. I'm a fan of these and I encourage you to shoot more, perhaps isolating the subject with sun or sunlight.


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## Scuba (Sep 11, 2012)

The first is ok.  The second is much better and very interesting.  The angle is great and I like the B&W here.  Nice job.  What Jaemie said about the animal view and how the sun adds life is spot on.


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 11, 2012)

Thanks so much Jaemie and Scuba.

I really like this perspective too and will definitely play with it more.  I think you all are spot on with where these are falling short and I have some ideas on how to redo.   It's cool when a plan starts coming together


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## irishguy0224 (Sep 11, 2012)

second picture is much better imho than the first. Lovely shot!


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## Bitter Jeweler (Sep 11, 2012)

Crop the bottom flower out of the first one. But try to leave as much stem as possible. Maybe clone a little of the flower out then crop. 

See what you get....


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 11, 2012)

Hey Bitter, I will give that a try in the morning


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 12, 2012)

Ok so here is the suggested crop along with the full image I'm cropping from.
I took some flower out bottom right to keep more stem.
I think this one is closer but still there is still a little je ne sais quoi missing... 

Full Image







Suggested crop






And one more crop that is a maybe? (or maybe I need more coffee lol)


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## Bitter Jeweler (Sep 12, 2012)

I like it better without the flower at the bottom.


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 12, 2012)

Thanks for the suggestion, I do like it gone too but the whole still isn't quite there yet.

There is a bunch of awesome C&C here so
I shall reshoot and see what we end up with


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 12, 2012)

So today was the last clear sky for a few days so I went out at a different time of day and at the same time of day and tried again.  I think I've stared at this concept too long doing it two days in a row so I will be moving on to other things and leaving it for a while after this lol.

I think these came a bit closer to the mark but lost a bit of the character from the first set... or I've stared at them too long lol.

 These are the best of the bunch.


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## fractionofasecond (Sep 12, 2012)

I still like the second original picture the best.  I think because you challenged yourself, it made the picture even better.  Anyone here can take a picture of a flower but you still managed to make it look just as beautiful in B&W.  Awesome shots.


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 13, 2012)

Thanks fraction 
I think you touched on an important point, the second shot felt a little forced and perhaps too thought out while I was shooting it.


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## fractionofasecond (Sep 13, 2012)

PixelRabbit said:


> Thanks fraction
> I think you touched on an important point, the second shot felt a little forced and perhaps too thought out while I was shooting it.



Either way they look good to me...  Awesome pictures


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 13, 2012)

Thanks


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## fiziwig (Sep 14, 2012)

Flowers, being inherently colorful, demand color photographs. But this one works in B&W! I like it. I prefer the second crop. The first feels crowded to me.


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## Jaemie (Sep 14, 2012)

I think #6 is the best so far. It's very good - feels alive and dynamic and immediate. I can imagine myself as a mouse, eagerly exploring this fantastic world of tall flowers.

You might want to check your sensor for dust. I could be mistaken, but I think I see a few specks in #7.


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## PixelRabbit (Sep 19, 2012)

Oops, I missed these replies, sorry!
Thanks Fiz and Jaemie.
Jaemie, my sensor is definitely still very dirty and that makes me sad  I've been trying to fit the cleaning kit into the budget for a while, hopefully soon!


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