I really like this, some creative thought was given to this marvelous posting. Tigs♥ =^..^=

The blur effect looks very good,very nice colors and lighting too,have a nice day,Tootles.

The colours are nice and natural.. and vibrant (almost want to write 'fresh', which, would be a good good thing).

Exposure looks to be good good.


Caveats?

Being quite bold here.. prefer without the Zoom Blur. That, or.. lessen the overall effect through whatever settings are available to you.

A shallow/narrow DOF with your composition/framing of the setting would qualify your photo on the note of the passed Contest topic/theme ... and elevate things in my humble opinion.

Here's a quick primer on DOF, from one of my go to sites:

CambridgeinColour.com - "Understanding Depth of Field in Photography"

(A small popup will appear, simply click the 'X' to continue onto the page.)

... ...

Ya know.. as a suggestion, and after a second/third look ... maybe even losing the border might work?

The Zoom Blur is visually.. quite powerful in conveying your artistic aim/goal (DOF.. with a twist). I don't think the border is necessary ... again, in my humble opinion.

In a word, and in short.. simplify things.

And..


Despite my curmudgeonly constructive critique above.. interesting experimentation.

And..


A request.

Like to see the original, with possibly a crop.. wait.

(*shakes off curmudgeonly attitude..*)

How about.. this:

"Fleeting Summer" - Cropped and some other minor adjustments

Still retains, most, if not all of your original image. Artistic intent and otherwise.. and more so, retains it's original abstract qualities. But.. with the dominant focal subject more prominent within frame.

Think it was the latter note that was at the crux of my curmudgeon-ness.

... ...

Right, just let me go get the kitchen sink to add here and.. done.

Thanks Les... it looks a lot nicer without the border! It was put there by the Zoom Blur filter, but that doesn't excuse me of course. I could have cropped it out anyway... I could have planned ahead so that the border only landed on the part of the photo I didn't want. Because it's a very simple image, fussiness round the edge distracts too much.

Found and published the original now, and tweaked the colours a little. I didn't crop it, as I wasn't quite sure how to. ;-) Summer Peace