COMMENTS:

Mark Aksoy	A lot of thinking has gone into making this a compelling composition.  It is organic yet abstract.  The agave leaves form several planes in the scene allowing the eye to move into the image. The angle of the shot allows the focal point - the 2 dark-tipped "horns" - to show up sharply against their lighter blurred background.  My only quibble (and it is only a "quibble"!) is with the top of the scene.  The distracting brown detail at extreme upper right can be cloned out with the agave leaf.  The larger detail at left with its warm earth colors clashes somewhat with the cooler blue-greens of the agave.  Maybe you could selectively alter the hue of this area to bring it more into harmony with the rest of the color palette.  Overall, though, well done!!
Cliff Banks	This is in my opinion a fine abstract picture, without your description one would not know what it was or how it was taken. Well done.
Bob Altman	WOW! This is a great shot. I had no idea what it was until I read your explanation. Lighting is always the cornerstone of a good image and you had reflected morning sun. Your post work made this a very interesting and unusual image. I might have made the frame higher in opacity so the agave was not visible but that certainly does not detract from a very good image.
Bob Barley	This is a macro study of a larger subject focusing on the growth pattern and the self-protection system of the plant. The low contrast lighting works well for capturing detail. Interesting patterns. Nice colors.
Rene Ross
Margaret Boike
Rich Krebs	Nice image. Interesting plant. I might have just cropped the image to the center plant although the rest of the image shows other leaves.

Member Bio

Margaret Boike - mebcdb@earthlink.net Biography - I earned a degree in Mathematics from the University of Minnesota and am now retired from a long career as a Computer Software Engineer. My husband and I spend the summer months at the lake in Lindstrom, Minnesota, and the winter months in a retirement community in Surprise, Arizona, where I recently joined the Sun City Grand Photo Club.    As a young adult, I took lots of slides and color prints of vacations and our children growing up, and I bought my first digital camera in 2002. Now, I have a Nikon D90 digital SLR, with Nikon18-105mm and 70-300mm lenses and a Sigma 105 mm macro lens. I am taking advantage of PSA's Individualized Photography Course and this Study Group, to improve my skills.     Besides my trusty tripod, my favorite accessories are a right-angle viewfinder, a 3' shutter release cable and a 5-in-1 portable filter/reflector. My favorite subjects are the flowers, insects and birds in my garden, and, of course, my two grandchildren.