• Members 1178 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 3:06 p.m.

    Swift by name, very swift by nature. The middle two shots are screaming speed. Good that you persisted. And there's something about their shadows frozen in time.

  • Members 699 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 3:28 p.m.

    A lot of animals leaving in zoos are rescued after been injured and would not survived back in wild. What is really cruel is killing animals in corrida, dog fight, rooster fight.

  • Members 861 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 4:36 p.m.

    "Generations"
    generations.jpg

    generations.jpg

    JPG, 756.4 KB, uploaded by OpenCube on Jan. 12, 2024.

  • Members 118 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 7:09 p.m.

    We can read/interpret a photo from various angles: composition, framing, timing, originality, creativity, aesthetic sense, dynamism, etc. But we can also interpret it for its meaning and purpose. My comment is a warning that a photo can convey the wrong idea of reality, even if that wasn't its intention.

  • Members 543 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 7:58 p.m.

    I agree with you, and think this is one of the strengths of this photo. The wide open mouth, with rows of sharp teeth. It is a happy smile, and at the sime time a terrible threat, which could easily consume the trusting woman. This juxtaposition of raw power, happy mouth, trust and vulnerability is interesting enough, but then there is the other level, which you rightly point out. Powerful as the orca may be, it is in captivity, at the mercy of humans, and, in the end, at the mercy of this seemingly trustful and vulnerable woman. Despite all the physical power of the animal, the woman has the ultimate power. Now how you interpret all that is the subject of your disposition and careful thought, and causing you to have that philosophical thought process is a measure of this image's success.
    Truly a great photo.
    And the other photo with the flying orcas is not far behind it.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 8:04 p.m.

    No idea what this is, but who cares? it is fun to look at and analyse. I really like the lighting and textures of the Thing. I like the background changing from a deep blue to black. At first I wondered about the heptagonal bokeh shapes- Were they distractions? But actually they are cool, and draw the eye from the left side through the subject to the right.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 8:13 p.m.

    Lovely textures in the greens.
    As to focus, I would guess that focussing on the trees in the arc on the bottem right would be best, as the triangle of trees pointing towards the centre would also be in focus, and if the others are slightly out of focus, it wouldn't matter.
    I would also try a crop without any sky. I think that would concentrate on the wonderful texture and shades of green of the trees. Just make sure the highlights are not too bright, and don't worry about the darker parts heading towards black.

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 8:16 p.m.

    They are definitely in India. We arrived at a country school on a wooded hillside in Sikkim and there was a dreadful, deafening machine to drive us crazy. It turned out to be these fellows. I am not sure I enjoy seeing them close up, but well done anyway!

    Pete

  • Members 543 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 8:18 p.m.

    I have many blank frames where a flying dragonfly should be, so well done for capturing one, and a good one at that.

    Pete

  • Members 699 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 8:59 p.m.

    Thank you for looking and commenting. Actually there was not any hidden intention behind this picture, just to show interesting moment. How people interpret it is up to them. BTW flying are dolphins, not orcas.

  • Members 699 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 9 p.m.

    Some more from Miami Seaquarium
    Miami Seaquarium 060916-46.jpgMiami Seaquarium 140713-07.jpg
    Miami Seaquarium 140713-40.jpg

    Miami Seaquarium 140713-40.jpg

    JPG, 1.7 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on Jan. 12, 2024.

    Miami Seaquarium 140713-07.jpg

    JPG, 2.5 MB, uploaded by Sagittarius on Jan. 12, 2024.

    Miami Seaquarium 060916-46.jpg

    JPG, 668.8 KB, uploaded by Sagittarius on Jan. 12, 2024.

  • Members 543 posts
    Jan. 12, 2024, 9:05 p.m.

    Yeah, I'm great at identifying species 😏

    Even if you had no intention behind the photo, the point is that the triggers for thought you provided, even if they were unintentional, are what elevates the photo.

    Pete

  • Members 1653 posts
    Jan. 13, 2024, 2:09 a.m.

    This one is pretty, reminds me of an oriental painting of a poppy. The jitter and repetition of subject makes me think of an old film projector with a glitch in it. Interesting piece.

  • Members 1653 posts
    Jan. 13, 2024, 2:13 a.m.

    Wow, this one tells a story for sure. It looks like this downtrodden fellow has assembled this makeshift drum set of buckets and rotten twigs to get donations, rather than for any love of music. He looks utterly miserable so his gig may not be working. The red, white and blue coloring is poignant. The starburst effect just behind his head is a nice touch.

  • Members 1653 posts
    Jan. 13, 2024, 2:16 a.m.

    For once, I can see what you've used here, but of course not how you managed the effect. You've caught a bottle of bokeh, in a light bulb. And the subject is set against a nicely blurred background. Well done.

  • Members 1653 posts
    Jan. 13, 2024, 2:19 a.m.

    Your image and WhyNot's could be paired with those color schemes.

    From a perspective of shape, form and color contrast, it's a real winner. Wonderful geometry. There is one mystery left though - these look like doorways to two different apartments. If so, why is the address the same?

  • Members 1653 posts
    Jan. 13, 2024, 2:22 a.m.

    Oh, those swallows! The dips and dives are dizzying enough, but you've shot these at equally dizzying angles, leaving us with a kind of pleasant vertigo as we try to follow these acrobatic birds in their gyrations. My favorite is the third, where the bird is echoed in the forms of the limbs of that tree behind him.

  • Members 1653 posts
    Jan. 13, 2024, 2:30 a.m.

    Fine geometry Pete, and excellent use of tonality in the monochrome conversion. I like that you've got it carefully aligned (except for the wavy reflections that are as dizzying as the swallows.) The whole reflection effect is part of the draw on this photo; there is some mystery as to which dimension the people we see are in. We have lines leading to them vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, so we cannot help but notice them; yet without your comments we aren't sure who they are, where this is, or what they're about. So they could be Everyman, lost in the maze of modern life, suspended but pressed in place. Well done!