This is just about any kind of forum we want it to be, so birds are fine. Over half what I post is birds since I'm obsessed with the ones that live at the dam.
This image of the chickadee staring down the red monster with outstretched tongue and marshmallow eyes made me smile. I'd be reluctant to step into that maw too! Looks like a trap!
That's pretty wonderful. I imagine a circus ringmaster escaping from his entrapment in a movie screen - striding down the city street so purposefully with his top hat and spats, his carved cane gripped behind him ready to tap the show pony back into line. But the show pony is a nimble acrobat short of a shirt leaping into nothing, one hand held up as if to signal "stop" to the escaping ringmaster. A fun exercise in imagination and a masterful capture.
In this forum Chris, you pick the subject and no one cares what brand of gear you use. We only want to discuss the image.
Your little bird is tiny. The gate/grating frames it and the lines ensure that we see it and identify it as the subject immediately. Very neat.
The same frame defines the second character. I think it is a bird box even though it looks like a monster. Monster and bird regard each other and that makes the shot. in this case, I think the "monster" is in our heads and we are aware of this. The bird sees home and security. He wouldn't be sitting here otherwise. The joke is therefore about our perception and we know this. There's also a bit of a warm glow because many of us are keen to see birds like this survive and we are happy to see helping hands in action.
Okay... it's nothing of artistic value, I guess. But it's a little bit autobiographic. Because while I don't mind as much nowadays, I would have loved to stick out less when I was a child. 😪
You think I'll stick out there, Mom? by simple.joy, on Flickr
I'll probably add this as another example for triangular bokeh (because everyone is raving about that nowadays 😉) to my thread about unusual bokeh shapes. Drop by, if you have something similar or more spectacular! 👍
BTW. this shot was created for a flickr group theme called "beads".
Camera in one hand, dog ready to show me how good it can hunt in the other. Even getting one thing in focus was a challenge.
The halos are part of the unmodified image. They got worse with editing. I'm not sure why I keep getting those halos with leaves and distance in infrared. Any ideas?
I have a large boisterous dog so I understand your dilemma. Even with the dog's "help", it's possible to take two exposures with different focal points and blend them in Photoshop, unless you have a large camera you can't support one handed. Or just come back without the dog later. Or leave the dog in the vehicle a while.
To get rid of halos you need a pixel level editor. I use only Photoshop for such so I can only speak to how to do it in PS. This tutorial gives a good description of how I go about it, but I'm sure there's other methods.
www.capturelandscapes.com/how-to-quickly-fix-edge-halos-in-photoshop/
Roel, MikeFewster, Minniev,
Thank you all so much for looking and for your kind comments.
Just a few thoughts about comments on the pose, lighting, etc. . . I had no real control regarding any of those elements. This was a "grab shot" that just happened. I was sitting on our back porch on a cool but sunny day in late November. Gayle had just washed the hair perm goop out of her hair and came to the door, blotting her hair dry with a towel. She was framed in the doorway under the porch overhang in the cool, slanting afternoon light. Nothing had been planned.
I did say, "Hold still!" . . . But can't remember why I had my camera with me. Just lucky!
Rich
Those moments of just serendipitous luck are often the best and those we remember most vividly.
Lucky man:
[song by The Verve (one I play often, just to remind myself)]
(youtu.be/MH6TJU0qWoY)
Thanks Linda,
I took a lot of shots, reducing EC and checking the histograms to find what wasn't over exposed First time I actually used the histograms. That first one was -1.33. Fairly dark before adding a lot of shadow boost, but worth the effort.
I am happy with your crops. The vignette is interesting. Subtle but effective. I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't mentioned...
Thx Paula,
Turns out there is a simple selection tool enabling selected edits so I took Linda's crop and vignette and came up with this...
p.s. don't look too close - there is no blending on the edges of the highlight removal...
.
Agree.
Great! Glad to hear you found workable selection tools also. From a black and white editing class I learned about checking the edges of a composition carefully (though I sometimes forget) and when to darken or lighten areas to direct attention. All part of the fun of processing! Regarding exposure, with my Olympus and live view (including through the viewfinder). I simply adjust shutter speed or aperture, if more appropriate, or sometimes ISO. For me it is quicker and easier than using EC with aperture priority or shutter priority modes, the way I used to do on my Canon.
Thanks Linda, I have seen some of your raptor images and I know you're well versed in their behavior and how to capture them, so I appreciate your feedback. That huge cumbersome and complex nest was one of the reasons I was seduced into trying to get a lot into the frame.
I appreciate your demo of a more compact crop. I wanted to get the birds larger, but was flummoxed by how to get enough of the amazing nest into the frame with them. Your crop gives me another option to pursue.
Thanks Mike, I appreciate your input. I will definitely try out a crop that limits the bulk of the nest (the thing is HUGE, the average osprey nest weighs about 300 lbs!), will fiddle with the blue saturation too. Maybe too zealous polarization.
I will try to part with some of the bulk of the enormous nest, though I confess the size of that monster has impressed me. This year they refurbished it and probably added 50 lbs of new sticks to it. My displays are never purely documentary, and there will be other images in the collection that are far more highly edited, so it won't hurt anything. I'm not gonna enter it in an Audubon contest. And I'll tame the blue a bit.
Thanks Chris. I figure he already gave Mom her half of the fish. The littles aren't hatched yet, but should be soon.
I appreciate everyone's help. When I'm working on a project I depend on forum members to give me feedback to help me shape what I'm expecting to display. To me, that is better feedback than I could get from an art critic - you guys come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have a wide variety of interests and styles and experience, but you share a common trait: a well developed visual intelligence. Thank you for sharing it.
Roel,
Good song. Didn't know it before. Added to my library.
Rich
Turn About ....
WhyNot
Time moves along.
I was puzzled to see "Lucky Man" here. I remember a "LuckyMan" as a song that was big for Emerson Lake and Palmer a bit over 50 years ago. It had a different message. I can't find the original on You tube, the version I found is nothing like the original. This gives some info. It was often listed in 'greatest songs" lists.
thegreatestsongs.com/lucky-man-emerson-lake-palmer/
Found the original
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZUyB5dRwg0
8MB's of crap. Lol.
