The Eye's Have it

[Grady Weed]

I was fortunate enough to have photographed this Cormorant from 8 feet away while visiting Anhinga Trail in the Glades just a few short days ago while visiting the great state of Florida. Since we moved to Maine in 89 from Florida, it was good to get back. I had a blast. Let me know what you think of this creation.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, Shooting Date/Time 1/26/2008, Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/125Sec. Av(Aperture Value) F8.0, Evaluative metering, Exposure Compensation 0, ISO 400, Lens EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM, Focal Length 300.0 mm. Shot eye level with tripod, sun was to my rear right, just 100 feet at the trail head. Cropped for a 11x14 and this is about 75% of the frame here. Shot in RAW, converted with Canon Digital Pro and then tweaked in PS 6.

I chose this comp to acenuate the blue eye and to try something new other than full body shots or portraits. Mr. Shadle has always encouraged me to think outside my little boxed in world. I am usually "dead center Grady". Well...lay it on me. I brought my emergency room issued first aid kit to stop the bleeding.

[Maxis Gamez]

Simply gorgeous!

The details are amazing and the composition works very well!.

[Fabs Forns]

Hi Grady,

big welcome to BPN, Ive been watching your participation across the board and thank you :)

Very nice image, and in my opinion, it could benefit from some sight TLC :)

I cropped to place the eye closer to the rule of thirds, duplicate the layer using multiply as the blending mode (it looked slightly overexposed) and reduced the opacity to taste. Hope you like it.

Hope to be able to help you improve your skills!

[Grady Weed]

I was afraid to go too dark on this one and did not want to block up the details on the head near the eye. But everything can be improved. My goals are simple, to make each day an improvement from the last. I just love photographing birds and scenics. Please feel free to give suggestions and advice on any of my photos. I need all the help I can get.

[Steve Wheeler]

Those eyes are captivating! This is a lovely image Grady. I like Fabs crop as to me it brings more attention the those magical eyes.


Steve

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Very stunning composition Grady and I do like the darkened image and crop that Fab posted. Very well capture image Grady and look forward to many more.

[Blake Shadle]

Hey, Grady! It's been a while, now you know what I've been up to ;) I like the concept of this image, and I like Fabs suggestions for improvement including darkening and crop. Darkening the image adds to the mood in my opinion. What's important is that you had the vision to go out and make the image. Small adjustments are the easy part.

[Glenn Bartley]

An excellent portrait! Love the details in the feathers and that blue eye :)

[Grace Scalzo]

Grady, Great thinking here. In addition to that gorgous eye, the beautiful feather pattern catches my interest. NIce! (I like your devotion to improvement, I share that goal!)

[Jim Poor]

This is really nice. I like the repost by Fabs, but would go back to it and lighten the eye itself. The original, lighter blue is more captivating to me.