Why are you growing?

[OneArmedScissor125]

Winter is coming but this flower doesn't seem to care. The composition of this shot is bothering me. Is the flower well placed composition wise? I tried cropping, but the leaves seem to add character to the photo. Should I crop out the leaves or leave them? Does the photo seem a bit dark?

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 31 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV

[Ed.]

Ok - this is a really interesting find! Wonderful colours within the leaves although as you say the shot is a little dark... is there anything you could do with lighting on it - or maybe re-shoot at a brighter time of day?

You have managed to focus wonderfully on the top of the plant which seems to dissapear down. I would with the crop and shooting angle accentuate this height even more to give it a real "appearing" feel. Maybe to shoot the shot in portrait rather than landscape or to alter the shot angle coming more from the bottom right corner of the photo (if that makes sense) would accentuate the depth your focus is building in.

As to the background - it seems very much the plant (with the top almost centered...) and the background. To move the spot of focus - maybe thinking about placing it at a key position using the rule of thirds would really help.

So on the whole i love your choice of subject and the way the focus gives a feeling of height and distance. A slight re-angle/crop could improve the picture no end. Colour wise try editing the levels/curves to bring them out might help you. Nice image that despite being a little dark shows the colours in the leaves and have been kept nice and steady (can't really see evidence of camera shake - good job!)

[windrider86]

I like your idea but would have tried to shoot it at a differnet angle so you didnt have the sidewalk visible as the background. Perhaps lighten it up a tad so you can see more detail.