Spiky symmetry

WHAT
This is one of my first attempts at entering the world of DSLR photography. This plant is a type of cycad located in my front yard. From time to time, grasshoppers and other vegetarian insects tear it to bits and this is the result.


HOW
To take this shot, I held the camera above the centre of the plant with the lens pointing down towards the ground. Because I had to reach across the other (spiky!) branches of the plant, I held the camera at arm's length and shoot blindly. I took a number of shots until I was satisfied that I had the centre of the plant in the centre of the scene.


The first time I took this shot, I had used a low aperture setting which resulted in parts of the branches being slightly out of focus ie. a shallow depth of field. My tutor/husband suggested using a higher aperture setting to ensure the entire length of each branch was sharp and in focus.


WHY
The reason I was drawn to taking this photo is because I liked the symmetry of the scene as I had composed it - I like things that are symmetrical and balanced, but I also love shots that aren't symmetrical!


POST-PRODUCTION
Editing of this shot was minimal - at the time I barely knew anything about photoshop. All I did was increase the vibrance and the clarity.