Ghost

@danthro: I think the white works with the deliberately blurred focus - perhaps because of the halo / fade effcect? - I'm not sure. In contrast, yesterday's shot had to be sharper to work with the dark background.

that's my theory, anyway :)

@Craig: photography like any art is very much about personal taste... there are some technical basics that separate poor snapshots from photos with potential, but once you pass that initial bar beauty is completely in the eye of the beholder. I often find that the pictures I personally like best are not exciting to others in the community, while I'm frequently surprised by how much others like the shots I think are merely okay. there have been a few of those that I almost didn't post :) seeing through the camera and seeing the shot for the first time on the site are quite different, I suppose. it's great to have feedback because that helps me see my shots through others' eyes.

with this particular shot the very small area of focus was entirely deliberate - this was a trying-to-be-artsy technical experiment rather than attempt to take a poster-worthy shot. I do hear you on the dof for yesterday's shot (and for some of these other recent macros). unfortunately the big zoom results in a very narrow DOF and the awkward shooting angle and late afternoon light meant that I couldn't really push the f-stop much beyond 8 without risking camera shake. the narrow dof was most frustrating for this shot, where danthro quite rightly jumped on the shortcomings of the focus. in that case the light was fleeting so I couldn't take a string of slightly different shots. (--> bad workman blames tools :)

yesterday's dark background was our neighbours' shadowy porch, the white background just a bit of building trim. easier for a luddite like me than trying to photoshop those in :)