Bokeh Silhouette, Any Thoughts?

[franco101]

Hi! I'm new to the forum, but I've been a browser of this site for months! I absolutely love this site, and I also agree that I should share this some other place and time.

So over Christmas, I went out to the lake by my house and I took shots of the lights surrounding the water. I remember that there was this one boat that I wanted to take a picture of, but this stem got in the way. There was no way possible to move myself left or right to a more favorable angle because that would result in me falling into the water. So what I did instead was to make this stem the focus of the photo. I backed away from it, I zoomed in to intensify the Bokeh of the background, and I created a silhouette set against a Bokeh. I was really proud of my shot, and it was one of the best ones that night. So here's what I want to gather:

1) Is the exposure good on the photo?
2) Is my composition good, and if not, what are ways to help me give the picture a new look.
3) Other compliments/ critiques.

Please be honest. I want to learn from my wrongs and my rights. Thank you so much! The picture is attached below:

P.S. If you want, browse through my website portfolio http://www.frphotos.weebly.com and tell me how you like the pictures. Thanks once again!


Canon EOS 50D
28-135mm f/3.5-f/5.6
f/5.6 aperture
1/40 shutter speed
ISO 400
Focal Length 135mm

[ridley19]

I think the bokeh effect is fine but we can barely see the stem. I'm not sure a silhouette works in this instance. I'd prefer to see the stem close to the lens and lit up with complimenting bokeh in the background.

[franco101]

Originally Posted by ridley19

I think the bokeh effect is fine but we can barely see the stem. I'm not sure a silhouette works in this instance. I'd prefer to see the stem close to the lens and lit up with complimenting bokeh in the background.

Thanks for the critique! I know it doesn't work in the traditional sense, but I wanted to work a way around a problem .

I did notice how the clarity was really lacking, however. It gets hard to focus because the object was so dark, and I was hand holding. I couldn't get closer to the stem because my lens wasn't a macro lens .

[mathgeek]

Originally Posted by franco101

I did notice how the clarity was really lacking, however. It gets hard to focus because the object was so dark, and I was hand holding. I couldn't get closer to the stem because my lens wasn't a macro lens .

Something I've done in situations like this is try to point some type of flashlight that is not strong enough to brightly illuminate the object but will accent bright spots. Point it where you want and see what you get... I have about 6 different strengths from pen light to spot light.