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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
oops, forgot to add the image
|
Aug 19th |
 |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Thank you, everyone! I really appreciate your comments.
I did try to blur the background a bit more but wasn't very good at it, even with the texture slider all the way to the left. I might try a blur filter on photoshop, but that will take me some time (I'm not very good at PS yet).
I see what Richard means about the background being in the purgatory zone. I compared it to my swan image, where the swans and the background are close together and therefore called for a sharp background. This one, though, is on the verge. It was close but not as close. More image playing!
Surgery won't be for a couple of more weeks yet, so I have plenty of time to play here at home.
Again, I reallyreallyREALLY appreciate your comments, even with they aren't so complimentary (that seems to be the best way I learn. . .) But I have to say, this month Bud is my favorite fotofriend :-)
|
Aug 19th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Thank you, Michael. I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass when I FINALLY had a decent photo that checked all the boxes: Clarity (check), composition (check), exposure (check). Usually I can get 1 out of 3, so I wa particularly happy with this one.
I think the haze is caused by the distance, no? (I'm not good at estimating distance,but these guys were far out in the marsh.) The haze is just ever so slight, and I did play around with the dehaze slider, but again, timidity won out over going bold :-) In any event, the birds are clear, and maybe the haze makes them stand out from the background.
I think the flowers in the background are called (wiat for it . . .) pinkweed. Also smartweed and a dozen other names. It grows in wet, poor soils, and USGS finds it in Seneca County, which is where this wetland is located. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/GreatLakes/FactSheet.aspx?Species_ID=2735
There is another, prettier pink flower that flourishes there, the swamp mallow (rose mallow). Sometimes you can find them in white, but in the MNWR it's mostly the pink variety. https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/hibiscus/moscheutos/
Hopefully this gallbladder thing will heal soon. Right now I'm under lift restrictions, and it's really hard not to gather up my gear and look for more soggy bog bottoms.
|
Aug 14th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Reply |
Thank you, Cindy. I'm going to remember that about the contrast. I did play with levels, but apparently I was too timid to go for bold :-) |
Aug 14th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Reply |
My favorite -- that tail!
|
Aug 9th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Thanks for your good wishes. I am muchmuchMUCH better but will probably have the surgery next week. Ugh, it's tough getting old. . .until you consider the alternative. Then getting old is a blessing!
I see what you did there, kind of giving the guy in the air more wingroom and cutting down on the foreground greenery. Yes, that looks better, so thanks! Did you also increase the4 contrast a bit?
When I take the Z9 out, I also take either my 850 or 500, so I can practice with settings. The EVF spoils me, and I will never learn settings unless I actually do them rather than let the camera tell me what to do. Didn't know about that starlight thing so thanks for the warning! |
Aug 9th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Reply |
Better?
|
Aug 5th |
 |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Reply |
when you talk about a meter reading, do you use the one in the camera or a separate one? |
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Wow, what a shot!
In my inexperience, I am going to say I really like the crop you chose. Watching the leopard emerge from the upper left and sneak towards the opposite corner emphasizes (to me) how stealthy and deliberately s/he is moving -- one can only guess what the subject of its interest is.
I do like the original as well, although I realize it doesn't work, composition-wise, without a crop. The greater expanse of snow, though, makes it seem whiter and less gray (to me, but I have little experioence. . .)
It's great that, although you mention an enclosure for this captive animal, both photos show absolutely no evidence of it. It really looks like it is out in the wild, sneaking up on its prey.
|
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
I occasionally see these guys here in western NY but not often. So it's a treat when you get to capture them in camera. They are so hard to get them in flight (at least for me) because they are sooooo fast!
I like the mix of color and the way the falcon is framed by the different parts of his perch. He looks a bit pensive. . .or maybe he is just hungry.
Everyone has such nice photographs this month! I love looking at them and learning from them. |
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Little greenies are so funny -- they look like they have no gullet until they find a reason to extend their necks. Where do they hide these things!?!
I agree with you about leaving the environment in the photo to help tell the story. But if it's obstructing something important I guess a little judicious use of LR or PS is warranted.
I like how bright and sharp everything is. reallyreallyREALLY nic shot!
|
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Yikes! I'm glad you have a healthy respect for these guys!
I read your settings over and over again. So, the settings don't have to be extreme to get a good shot in the dark (learning!). As soon as I learn how to take photos in the light, I am going to learn how to take photos in the dark.
I like that you got the raindrops in their bubble-and-ripple stage, and there's enough of them to frame Mr. Alligator so we don't miss him, although the rim around the gator's eye draws my eye right to him.
I was in Florida last year and walking with a friend along a marshy, wet area just before sunset. I heard what I thought was thunder -- it was a bevy of alligators complaining about something. I had no idea they made such a scary noise!
|
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Ozzies have such peculiar names for their birds (thinking of the kookaburra, a/k/a "laughing jackass"). My friend in Queensland thinks they are just noisy pests, but I think they are gorgeous.
And so is your photo! Poor little dragonfly! I guess Willie doesn't find the wings as tasty as the rest of him. Or her. I like Willie's little pink tongue, which he is using to steady his meal rather than using his lower beak.
I read and re-read your description because you mention things that I likely would not have thought of, especially the part about the two-toned background possibly bisecting little Willie.
I learn so much here!
|
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
Eh, it looks a little flat. |
Aug 5th |
| 67 |
Aug 24 |
Comment |
That's beautiful! Even the trees adopt the color of the dunes.
Are the dunes really that high -- almost mountain-y?
The bright sun and bright sky are quite a contrast to the quiet gray of the dunes and the trees. I think without the sun it would still be beautiful (but we would wonder where the light was coming from) :-)
The layers I see in this photo -- the foreground, the dunes, and the sky/sun lend depth to what we see.
Nice, Michael!
|
Aug 5th |
11 comments - 4 replies for Group 67
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11 comments - 4 replies Total
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