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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Comment |
Thanks David. They are very hard to resist. I start photographing them at first bloom. Then when the Painted Bunting, Grossbeaks and others start feeding on the seeds. I even photograph the Finches and Doves when the flower heads turn brown and bow their heads and those guys start feeding. Everyone seems to agree about there being too much at the top, so I guess I should heed the advice and crop it down some. |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Cindy. I wish I could tell you that I planned that leading line, but I didn't. I'll give mother nature of maybe the farm owner credit for that. I did notice the open flower in the center and that was my focal point. I will try the cropping of the top a little and see what it looks like. Most of the images that I mount would have a white matt whether farmed or just mounted for the reason you mentioned.
' |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Michael. I could have done that. I will take a look and see. It may improve the overall effect. |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Reply |
Thanks bud. That's a long way to go for a picture of Sunflowers. Any excuse for a trip to Hawai will work in my book.
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Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Reply |
Thanks, Larry, for the comments. I could have cropped some off the top. Including more of the bottom would not have worked because of some really ugly stuff down there. There is a black plastic fence surrounding the fields of Sunflowers to keep the White-tailed Deer out.
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Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Comment |
Telling a story with our photos is the objective we all are attempting. Story telling is really important especially with nature photography. You succeeded in your effort to tell the Story about the Hunting and eating habits of the Swallow-tailed Kite. I have shot several hundreds of these guys trying to get the same results and it is not easy. The birds that I usually shoot are flying and diving over hay fields along the Savannah River. Their main food source is Junebug's and Dragonfly's The size difference between a Junebug and a Swallow-tailed Kite is extreme. Trying to get high quality detail of a 2-foot-long bird with a 4-foot wingspan and a Junebug about the size of your thumbnail being held in the bird's talons at the same time is next to impossible. I personally think someone qualified to be a judge in a nature themed contest should be knowledgeable enough to know that the kite with clenched talons and head bent towards the talons in flight is in a feeding posture and would not record deductions because they could not see the detail of the Junebug. Having said that if you have clipped the wings or tail, there would be deductions for sure. Since your objective is in telling the story and not about competition, I think you should be happy with your effort, I know I would be. |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Reply |
My Bad Bud. I misread your first line. It is very much like our Northern Shrike here in states, |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Comment |
Well, this is a WOW action shot for sure. I'll agree about this image having a completive edge because of the interaction of the species. Not an easy thing to capture and you did a great job of showing us the action. More room to the left of the Snowy would really help the image so I do like the new crop. I may have added even more. Shooting white birds without blowing the details is always a challenge. I really like this image Cindy. |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Comment |
Very cute little birds and man are they active.
We have a lot of these guys hear in the Low Country of South Carolina. I am going to agree with the other comments about the noise and the branch in front of the bird. Both are distracting. Not much you can do about the branch at this point, but you can clean up the noise with PS, LR or Topaz AI DeNoise. The crop really does work, I like that, and I see a glint of light in both eyes so that is really good too. I don't usually like to add much of a vignette but in this image, it may help to reduce the light corners of the image and at the same time draw the viewers eye to the Ruby- Crowned Kinglet. Not much but just a little, don't overdo it. My only other suggestion is to go back and spend some time with this guy and see if he may pose for you in a better spot. |
Jan 10th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Reply |
I like the leaf. Even as an abstract it helps with the story line. |
Jan 7th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Comment |
Very Nice nature Abstract David. I am originally from the Ohio valley region and am acquainted with those Ice formations. If I am not mistaken the ice is paper thin and thus looks like paper. If I remember it was usually raised off the water's surface and not actually touching water so there was an air pocket under it. Ok enough of that rambling because I could be completely wrong. I like the composition. I really like the lines of separation in the ice. They create leading lines that take you directly to the Oak leaf and that appears to be the main subject of the image. Without that leaf tucked between the layers of ice the image would not be as impressive. Nice find. Good work. |
Jan 7th |
| 67 |
Jan 23 |
Comment |
I like this, Bud. If I saw this bird up north, I did not know what it was. We have the Loggerhead Shrike here in the south and they look very much alike. I like the image. I like the bokeh background a lot. I think it works well with the black and gray of the Shrike. I guess you could have messed around with the resolution and seen what that may have accomplished but it looks fine to me. The bird is nice and sharp as well as the branch it is perched on. Cropping and composition is fine as well. Maybe you could have cropped a touch off the bottom, that would be a personal thing. I think by leaving some of the bird's environment in the image it ceases to become a cataloged shot. If you could have spoken the language of the Shrike and told it turn its head a little to the left it would have let you get a nicer shot of the eye, and it would have been looking more in your direction rather than a little away from you. It's a great photo Bud, I like it. My next trip back north I will be looking for it. |
Jan 7th |
6 comments - 6 replies for Group 67
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6 comments - 6 replies Total
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