Poppy revisited, AGAIN - Opinions requested...

[Scott]

Okay, I pulled out the 20D and Sigma 105 macro today and reshot the poppy seedpod.  Again.  But this is the picture I've been seeing in my head.

First, the LF 8x10 version from a couple weeks ago:


I like it, but it wasn't what I was aiming for.

Today's shot:


Obviously different in terms of contrast, color, and mood.  But which is more successful?  Try not to look at it strictly as a color v. B&W thing; I was most interested in a line and texture study when I first conceived this.  But which is superior overall?

Thanks for any input.
Scott

[wlewisiii]

I like the LF one better myself. I find the contrast of the high light on the top versus the deep shadow off to the left (edit: right side actually) to be more interesting. The digital image is, for me, too bright through out - as a result there is insufficent contrast between the brightest and darkest zones.

I've looked at too many peppers, I fear...

William

[radiophoto]

Yeah, what William said.

[sandeha]

The focus looks better with the LF lens, and the colours themselves are not too appealing in the DSLR shot.  But, contrast-wise, the LF shot is far too sharp and has too many hotspots to show off the form against the pale/dark areas of the tabletop.  The more consistent, and lower, lighting against white paper shows far more of the overall form and the delicate structure.

If you go back to LF on this, I think you need to consider your lighting against the background so as not to lose the forms of the subject.

[shadowfox]

What Sandeha, Pete, and William said.

And I was a digital-punk until about four years ago.

[Scott]

Thanks for your thoughtful critiques, guys.  I'd like to shoot it again in LF, with better control of the lighting.  Or at least the metering/processing - had I developed that at an N-1 or N-2, I think I'd have saved it.  But I'm starting to like the moodiness of the 8x10.  The digital is more documentary, which is my natural inclination, but I think I need to start fighting that temptation.  I guess that's the crux of it - I need to start focusing on creating mood rather than just documenting what I'm seeing.

So, I guess I need to play around with s'more 8x10 film come the morrow.

[sandeha]

For any studio work I always shoot digi first to check the balances.

[martolod]

they both have their merits. i like the detail in the second, but i like the lighting in the first.
for me these are the two superior qualities of each.

[taulen]

Both are good, but when it comes to what I would hang on my wall, there is no doubt, the LF is a clear "winner" =)

[titrisol]

Low key or high key, that is the question.

I like them both, maybe you can try shooting with the 8x10 again keeping the light high.  But the one in low key is very very good.

[Santiago Montenegro]

I'm going to be the dissenting voice. Even if I am a film dinosaur, I like the digital better. Most of all, it is the smoother transition from in to out of focus areas, but also the angle between camera and subject makes for a "rounder" pic, if you get my drift. Fills the frame better.

[Scott]

I don't know.  Spent a lot of time on this one, and looking at the result, I'm completely disappointed.  I don't like the orientation of the poppy seedpod, I'm underwhelmed with the more even lighting, and I'm liking the low-key version more and more.  Think I'll do this one more time with the higher contrast lighting.  After that, I'll admit defeat.

[Jim Evans]

Regardless of the Digital vs. Film issue,  I like the first image better for it's contrast and lighting.  More dramatic.   The second image clearly has more detail but it's, boring.   Flat light,  flat color, flat contrast, etc.

That being said,  I think you could replicate the first image easily with the digital camera with better lighting and some basic post processing.

So, I think it's really a technique issue that sets the two images apart.  Not film vs. digital.

[radiophoto]

Part of the visual problem may be that you've got so much flat surface surrounding it.  Play with things a little by placing the poppy on a piece of solid-color silk, and gather it up decoratively.  Maybe place the poppy on the silk with a platform of some kind underneath, providing several levels within the photograph to break things up.  With other objects to catch and bounce the light, who knows what you might end up with?

[Scott]

Yeah - technique is killing me here.  Think I'll experiment with the digital for a while, 'cause the film's expensive.

Pete - good suggestions.  I was going for the unhindered surroundings to emphasize the texture in the seed pod.  But I think you're right - may be too much of it.

Okay, after all that, I shot one more sheet.  Light leaks in the holder apparently, so this is cropped from 8x10:



Has the some of the same issues as the first, but I think the lighting is moving in the right direction.  Focus is still a little off; maybe my new bifocals will help with that... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the opinions thus far, everyone.