Nasturtiumby
pechkaComment by Artyste: Hello from the Critique Club.
Initial Thoughts
Interesting view of plant life, but a little fuzzy and flat. Sure don't like that shadow.
Composition / Content
Your composition is pretty nice here, although I think it may be cropped just a little too closely at the bottom. Nothing really screams "great" however, and your choice of subject, while it *is* an interesting viewpoint, isn't all that inspiring. Last, but not least, the shadow across the main leaf here really doesn't do anything for the photo, is pretty distracting, and kind of takes away from a "sunburst" look the leaf could have had without it. Try experimenting with angles and perspectives to try and eliminate aspects such as this.
Background
I think it's a little distracting that the lower layer of leaves isn't more out of focus. A shallower depth of field may have helped here.
Camera Work - Technical
Hard to know what to suggest when there's no information on what settings you used to take this, but closing down the aperature, and zooming in as much as possible could have helped get a shallower DOF. (I'm well aware how difficult it is to achieve this on a compact digi-cam though). Your exposure seems to be ok, but your focus is a little soft.
Digital Processing
This image is lacking a little bit of contrast I think, so some work with that could be beneficial. A little more work with USM or other sharpening methods would help the soft focus as well.
Fits the Challenge
It's grey-scale, so fits the challenge.
My Opinion on the Photo
Not a huge botany fan, but you've done a good enough job capturing the essence of the plant. A few minor details in processing and camera work could improve this shot a lot. Don't be afraid to take dozens of photographs from all kinds of views and angles. That's a real benefit of digital. Good luck in the future.
