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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
You really brought out the textures and lines with the high contrast b/w version! Much more dramatic than the original. I like that you accentuated the symmetry of the channel by centering it in the frame and using the very wide angle lens. Overall a very well composed shot.
My one suggestion has to do with the sky, which to me seems "crunchy" and doesn't feel like it fits with the smoother lines of the rocks. I'd try backing off on clarity or contrast in that region to soften it up a little bit. Keep the drama, just not so much fine detail in the sky.
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Dec 26th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
White birds in direct sun are a challenge, period. Spot metering on something white will underexpose it, remember the meter wants to make everything middletone (gray).
My technique with white birds in sun (which I have here in the desert a lot) is to use manual mode since the light isn't changing. Take test shots and check histogram and blinkies on the white subject, refining the exposure until the whites aren't blowing. Then start photographing.
This image is definitely overexposed, not just the whites but the flamingos are also too bright. The dull appearance, I think, is caused by the light being "flat", not a lot of contrast- you can see the shadows are directly below the pelicans, meaning sun was pretty much overhead. So expose for the white/brights, then in post-processing use the levels tool or other sliders to increase the contrast.
As for the sharpness, I don't mean to diss using a tripod, but in this case that wasn't the issue. At 1/2000 and f/16, you can easily get sharp images hand held. It looks to me like the focus point was in the dirt in front of the pelicans - hard to tell for sure but nothing else is in focus. So my interpretation is that the focus point was not in the right place, which a tripod won't necessarily help (although maybe it makes it steadier to get it in the right place...) My 2 cents. |
Dec 18th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
You did a nice job with your stated goal of capturing bird-in-flight (or almost in flight!). It looks nice and sharp other than the motion blur of the wings, which I like in this case. I love the pose with the one foot visible, wings up and head forward. The 2 big splashes behind are part of the story.
Bufflehead are probably one of the most difficult ducks to get a good exposure on, in my experience. That white blows out before you can get color in the dark head most of the time. If you used less exposure in this situation it might have been really hard to get any color and detail in the water. A bit of selective work on the whites as Michael suggested would be worth trying, but still may not work. |
Dec 13th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
I'm impressed by the quality of the result given the crop. Nice work.
Red subject against a green background is always eye-catching. It was worth waiting for this one.
I'm generally partial to slightly looser crops and if this was mine I'd probably leave a bit more all 'round. Especially on the right side, leaving the supporting branch going all the way down the right edge to help anchor the shot. |
Dec 13th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
I love the light and colors in this. I find the tree trunks to be a good supportive compositional element, framing the nest and the action. The moment captured really tells the story, the "expressions" of the 2 clearly show the dominance and submissiveness.
This is truly a situation where the tripod is essential- you'd never get a shot if hand-holding while waiting this long. I know you're a tripod advocate- I used to use one all the time with the 500mm f/4 lens- but with the new lighter gear I rarely use one any more. Except for something like this, or shooting from a blind, where you need to stay focused in one spot for a long time. |
Dec 13th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
Hi Susan, your self-critique is right on point! I don't know that I can add much to what others have already offered.
I do really like Michael's alternate crop including more ofthe pelican's reflections, and a nice grouping of the flamingos which gives some context and added interest.
I do like the moment you captured with the big yawn as well. Good job seeing and capturing that. |
Dec 13th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
Great story telling image! You caught the crab in a good pose with all the legs out and separated and the eyes looking around as well. I think your crop/ composition works well- not having the whole bird makes the action more prominent. There's a nice S curve in the neck and head as well, coming from the lower left which is appealing.
Yeah I'll agree that a bit brighter would be better. But I don't really see anything else I'd do differently.
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Dec 13th |
| 67 |
Dec 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Larry. I really struggle with what to do with white balance with snow in cloudy conditions- leave a blue cast or more gray, and getting an appropriate brightness so it looks like snow.
We were really limited in vantage points between deep snow and bird-flu restrictions that prohibited getting physically low. I do agree lower would be much better here- and I'd have loved to have a wide angle and really close, but it couldn't happen.
Anyway, as I was searching for the image to try your shadow suggestion, I found another sequence shot a bit earlier that I'd missed, that I think is compositionally better. I left the original WB and only brought in the white point in Levels to try to retain some of the blacks. |
Dec 6th |
 |
7 comments - 1 reply for Group 67
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| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Reply |
Hi Marge, thanks! I guess I wasn't clear in my description. I resorted to using the viewfinder for this shot after getting frustrated with the live-view setup. |
Dec 21st |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Reply |
Thanks Bruce! I was honored to be invited to submit it. One of my top favorite places in the world. |
Dec 19th |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
Well, that's one way to make an interesting image of a mob of pigeons! The patterns and shapes are quite intriguing.
Have you tried a horizontal flip of this image? There is a strong pattern of the tails going on a diagonal to the upper right, on the right side of the photo. That sweep tends to take my eye out of the image on the right side. When you flip it, that strong diagonal takes you from the left side of the image right to where you can see the one whole bird and kind of a circle with the other birds head down in the seed. My eye then stops and rests on that center of interest and stays in the image. Just a thought. |
Dec 17th |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
A well captured moment, with the prey visible and all the circles and splashes in the water completing the story. Nice light/ catchlight in the bird's eye. I like that you included the whole reflection even though it isn't perfect, it adds a nice dimension to the image.
Did you crop this from the top by chance? My eye keeps being drawn to the vegetation above the Limpkin. I'm wondering out loud here, if the original has more space at the top to where you could include more of the plant instead of cutting it in half. I think part of the distraction is that it is cut, so maybe including more of it would be more pleasing.
Anyway, it is a really nice capture of a good-looking bird. |
Dec 17th |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
The colors in this are wonderful, that aqua water sets off the pinks and oranges of the bird and makes them even more vibrant. The sweep of the orange feathers and spiky gray feathers speaks to the strength of the wind. Lovely pose and the subject is well placed with pleasing amount of space all around.
The one very minor thing that could improve this for me would be having the bird's head and beak turned ever so slightly more toward us. Not that it's problematic as is, just one of the subtleties I look for when selecting from a sequence of images (and certainly don't always find...). |
Dec 17th |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Reply |
That works!! |
Dec 13th |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
I like the "world passing by" aspect of this. I think that juxtaposing something out of focus with something sharp can be a great way to tell a story, which this does. The fully displayed red epaulets attest to that.
I like that the perched bird is completely set against the green and the gray part of the background doesn't bisect it. Nice job of positioning your height to accomplish that.
From a processing standpoint, this seems rather "flat"- that is, lacking in contrast. The blacks of the birds are not truly black. I increased the exposure and highlights a bit, and decreased the shadows, as well as bringing in the black and white points on the levels tool. Just to give it a bit more brightness or "pop". |
Dec 13th |
 |
| 91 |
Dec 23 |
Comment |
A lovely shot of this handsome species- chasing it around paid off. I love the shape of the branch that it's perched on, a nice pleasing "diagonal curve" if you will. You can see where it's been drilling and poised to continue. The light is so pretty, was worth being out early for it. The shallow DoF puts the distant background well out of focus, so that it adds some good color but isn't competing for our attention.
I like Bruce's concept with cropping out that one branch, but find that it puts the crest awfully close to the top of the frame. I'm not seeing an alternative that would eliminate that branch without making something "too tight" though.
I love Costa Rica as well- been there 3 times myself over the last 10 years! Such diversity and great infrastructure for tourism and photography. |
Dec 13th |
5 comments - 3 replies for Group 91
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12 comments - 4 replies Total
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