Blades of Grass

EXIF Data-
Camera- Nikon D5000
Lens- 18-55 f3.5-5.6G
Focal Length- 40mm
Exposure-1/160s
Aperture- f6.3
ISO- 200
The point of this photo was to simply capture these blades of grass, and to work on my macro skills.
Something just seems off, and I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the brown leaf in the right corner. Please help me improve on my blade of grass picture taking skills?
Critique away my fellow Nikonites!

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Hello LightSky,

The aim was reached: you got the grass and it is sharp.

To improve the shot you may consider the following points:

aesthetic: the picture does not have an aesthetic presentation of the subject. It is
technically correct but it id not appealing.

decor: in what environment is your subject presented. Here, the background is too
busy with other elements that do not contribute to the quality of the picture.

creativity: every one has seen grass. For your very vulgar subject to reach "extra-
ordinaire" status, you must put in your vision of the beauty in the photograph. Granted,
not easy… but this is where your artistic vision will come through!

Start slowly, be generous with yourself. You already have a good light and sharpness!

Just keep going… add quality elements as you go! …and keep posting so we can follow
your progression.

Have a good time!

What would have helped is to tone down some the the background distractions a little and sharpen the grass blades. Here is a quick and dirty edit of the difference.

What I miss seeing in this shot is the whole blades of grass, from the dirt to the tip. That is just what I Invision after reading the title.

I think Bill made a good point. In terms of creativity/composition, you might try an even lower angle of shooting so that you do indeed get more of the grass coming from the ground, especially with the shallow depth of field.

Technically/technique: in terms of capture, you nailed it. Beautiful bokeh, excellent center of interest, and most appropriate depth of field. Your post processing could use a little more punch, IMHO.

My feeling is, if I'm on the ground already, I'm going to shift my position in as many ways as possible and explore every angle of shooting.

Composition, creativity, originality . . . these all come from experimentation and questions that start with "what if . . . ." You're on the right track. Keep up the good work!

Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall did change to something that speaks your title better.

When I look at it I miss what the point was in your picture, I guess I get lost in the background, even when your subject is perfectly in focus.

Thank you so much everyone! This helps alot.
Tracsoft-Don Kuykendall, what program did you edit this with? Photoshop?
I use Picasa right now, mainly because it's free
(budget is limited), but I'm looking at getting Lightroom 5 soon.

I use PhotoShop CS6. Remember that if you are a current student or faculty that you can get a discount on Adobe software. I was taking a PhotoShop / Photography course at a local Community college and was able to use the discount to buy the software. Actually it was a really good deal for me since I am a senior I can take classes with no tuition (only other fees) so I save a ton of money by taking the class. My wife is a teacher so i can use her discount if I am not taking classes.

Cool! Thank you.
That's nice to know.
This forum is too great.