Between Death and New life

[Kiran Poonacha]

Thought this image would suit the December project.

This is a Short Toed Snake Eagle on a Rat snake kill and mating dragonflys :)

Spec: 1/3200, F 6.3, ISO 640, -1/3.

Mk4+500mm+1.4TC

Thanks for looking..

Regards..Kiran

[Doug Brown]

What an absolutely incredible image Kiran! The bird on the mound would be enough, but the juxtaposition of new life and death takes this over the top.

[Kristin Brown]

Speechless Kiran! Nothing to say but WOW:cheers:

[Stu Bowie]

Kiranbhai, incredible detail throughout this image, and just love the light and colours too. That eye stands out so well against the darker BG. An opportunity well used.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Phenomenal image, Kiran. Astoundingly beautiful. What a concept. I'm speechless.

[Greg Basco]

This is one of the best images I've seen in a long time. Looks like a museum diorama. Big congrats!

Greg Basco

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Kiran, this is unbelievable!! the eye, the prey, the shooting angle, BG....those gragonfiles...loved it all.

[Randy Stout]

Kiran:

Remarkable image. My first criteria when judging an image is its IMPACT, and this one has it.
Strong colors, sharp, great moment captured.

The whole cycle of nature in one image.

Cheers

Randy

[Pieter de Waal]

Incredible image Kiran, good concept and well executed. Amazing light and detail, love the snake curled around the birds leg.

[Shreyas Mantri]

Outstanding shot, lovely details! This is a superb opportunity executed well. Congratulations!

Shreyas

[Daniel Cadieux]

I don't know what to add that has already been said...just an amazing image. Life, death, birds, reptiles, insects, flowers (nice touch!), trees...couldn't you have thrown a mammal in there somewhere??:p I like Greg's museum diorama analogy, very trur.

[Danny J Brown]

Kiran,

OMG......why have you been keeping this one from us? So cool the way that snake is wrapped around the raptors leg. There is something about the capture of the eagle itself that is unique in every way. I agree with Greg Basco....it looks like a 3D diorama. I can't believe I haven't seen this one in a magazine.

DB

[Indranil Sircar]

Fantastic image, Kiran. The look, details, color and the drama all adds to it! Outstanding in all aspect. TFS.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Kiran this is mind-blowing!! So crisp and clear (the IQ in itself is superb) and the juxtaposition as mentioned takes it to another level. Expect to see this again soon ;)

[Bill Dix]

Fantastic image, Kiran. This one has it all. Best part for me is the snake wrapped around the eagle's leg.

[denise ippolito]

Killer image Kiran. It is an amazing capture to get the DF's in the same scene but then add the snake a fantastic BG. :):)

[Arthur Morris]

Wow, wow, wow! If you have not done much to the image, this is a BBC entrant for sure. It looks like a painting and the dark sky is an absolute killer. As is the sharpness, the image design, and the dragonflies.

May we see the original???

[Patrick Sparkman]

Amazing combination of elements and light. Fabulous image!

[Arno Ellmer]

All has been said Kiran . An image with striking impact !

[Gary Hamilton]

If you could just remove that distracting bird from this image, the rest of us would feel a whole lot better about ourselves.:p WOW, what a brilliant image. Cheers.

[Jay Gould]

Absolute winner in all categories; BBC material in every way. Like everyone else; I love it!

[James Salywoda]

Stunning Image Kiran a total winner I could of swore I saw
this in the morning on Naturescapes and now it's gone what happened?

[Mital Patel]

unbeatable stuff bhai. many congrats on this one

[Wes Aslin]

Incredible image!!! It almost looks too perfect to have occurred naturally. Like something that was conceived in a sculpture's imagination, and then committed to clay. The eye and the light on the chest are beyond great. Congratulations on such an outstanding piece of work.

[Ken Watkins]

Trying to think of someting to say that maybe different, but I cannot find the words to describe my feelings, so I will just say every now and then you see an image which takes your breath way this is one of those extremely rare moments.:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Incredible image, a nice portray of your theme of life and death along with good technical aspect. TFS :D

[Joerg Rockenberger]

Going against the mainstream here I'd say that the capture of the dragonfly is not quite strong enough to hold up against the eagle and snake which on their own would make an over the top image. In fact the blur of the dragonflies reduces the impact of the eagle IMO. And as Arthur requested I'd be interested to see the original as well. JR

[Chris van Rooyen]

Quite amazing....all's been said

[Kiran Poonacha]

Thank you my dearest friends and bird lovers for your great words of encouragement.

@ Guru and Joerg: I have attached the full frame original as required.

@ James: Bhai the 800 px size did not do justice to the image so I removed it.

I again thank everyone in the BPN forum for you continued support in helping me learn the skills of this art.

Regards,

Kiran.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Kiran. Requested not required :)

The fairly large crop help up superbly. Good job on losing the light area of BKGR abehind the bird's head. That would be a BBC no-no but I would advise creating a contest-acceptable version and entering it in several contests.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Thanks Kiran. Requested not required :)

The fairly large crop help up superbly. Good job on losing the light area of BKGR abehind the bird's head. That would be a BBC no-no but I would advise creating a contest-acceptable version and entering it in several contests.

Thank you Guruji.. will go ahead with you blessings.. also I have some more action shots from this kill will post them too for your feed back soon.

Regards,

Kiran

[Sid Garige]

Killer image Kiran. One of the best I have seen lately.

[James Salywoda]

@ James: Bhai the 800 px size did not do justice to the image so I removed it.





Yeah I agree they needed to increase the size limits to shots sometimes they just don't look as good that small.

[Arthur Morris]

Thank you Guruji.. will go ahead with you blessings.. also I have some more action shots from this kill will post them too for your feed back soon.

Regards, Kiran

Thanks and super. Do you have any with the snake's head more visible? Or with the snake fighting back???

[Andrew Merwin]

Superlative image. There is nothing to add as it has all been said.

[Johan Kruger]

IQ is off the hook! Super moment captured.

[jack williamson]

Well done. This is spectacular.

[Craig Brelsford]

This dramatic shot reminds me of "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" by William Carlos Williams:

According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
it was spring

a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry

of the year was
awake tingling
with itself

sweating in the sun
that melted
the wings' wax

unsignificantly
off the coast
there was

a splash quite unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning

Just as the farmer is oblivious to the dramatic plunge of Icarus, so too the misfortune of the snake goes completely unnoticed by the dragonflies.

If this were a normal shot, you'd expect someone to note the cumbersome perch that is the termite mound. But this is not a normal shot.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, I was one of the early birds to comment on this image, and I wrote that it was one of the best images I'd seen in a long time. Kiran, I still think it's a cool image and that you did a great job on the exposure and the sharpness. However, having seen the original RAW capture, I have to admit that I would have commented a bit differently had I known that the version originally presented was such a big crop. It held up well, no doubt, as the version you presented first looks great, but I was assuming that what I was seeing had been composed mostly in camera.

What I mean is that upon seeing that first version, I immediately thought that I was looking at a category winner for next year's BBC. But after seeing the original RAW capture, the presented version doesn't have quite the same impact for me.

Kiran, please know that I mean no disrespect to you and am not accusing you of anything. I think you did a good job in the field capturing an amazing moment. I simply had to write, however, because I was surprised that no one else reported a different reaction after seeing the RAW capture.

I think this issue of how we perceive a presented picture and the as-shot version is an interesting one in the world of nature photography today, so I would be curious to read what others think.

If the mods want to move this issue to a different thread/forum, please do so.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Arthur Morris]

Greg, The BBC has allowed some relatively huge crops in recent years.... The only problem I see as noted above is the removal of the light area behind the bird's head. With the huge files available today large crops are now part of the game, and that includes the prestigious contests.

Oddly I rarely crop to the extent seen here.... I judged the image in Pane 1 as it was presented and do not feel any differently after seeing the RAW. I was just curious.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Arthur. Fair enough. I have heard that about the BBC and some of the other contests, and I find that to be strange, image quality considerations aside. Different strokes...

Now the light area as you pointed out is indeed a different story for a contest. In all fairness, I should reiterate that Kiran never said anything about entering this in a contest when he posted, so I hope he understands that we're not saying he did anything wrong.

Cheers,
Greg

[Arthur Morris]

Not to worry. Kiran is a cool dude, is quite appreciative, and is always willing to learn and get better (just like me) :)

[Kiran Poonacha]

Not to worry. Kiran is a cool dude, is quite appreciative, and is always willing to learn and get better (just like me) :)

Sure you are right guru, I am here to learn :).

@ Greg : Thanks Greg, I too wish it was not a big crop, I had to make a choice of getting close which may disturb the bird and make it abandon its hard fought meal or stay put and enjoy the action. I chose the later, as I have disturbed birds a couple of times in the early days and felt really horrible about it. hope the action happens closer next time :).

Thank you guys..

Love to all Kiran

[Kiran Poonacha]

Thanks and super. Do you have any with the snake's head more visible? Or with the snake fighting back???

I have about two of them will post soon.

Thanks Guru..

Regards..

Kiran

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Kiran, that's a good point. We definitely have to put the subject's welfare above all else so, no matter how much you may have wanted to get closer, I think you should feel good about considering all of these aspects even while you must have been super excited.

Must have been amazing to photograph this; what a beautiful scene.

Best regards,
Greg

[Arthur Morris]

Kiran, It was 1984 and I was a total beginner I went looking for a Saw-Whet Owl at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. I was so, so proud that I found one on my own. I had my 400mm lens with me and wanted to get some pix. But there was one big dead branch right in the way. I knew that this species could be quite tame and accepting so I decided to try to break the branch gently. It cracked like a rifle shot and the bird flew never to be seen again. It was the last time that I tried something like that.... Live and learn and love what is.

[Jay Gould]

Kiran, Artie's statement "love what is" sums up this discussion. You were where your were by a well thought out choice not to disturb your subject, you captured what you captured which is the best that could be done under the circumstances - and it is a fantastic capture of a moment in life, and you cropped what you cropped because that is how what you captured you want to present to the World.

The fact that a particular contest, no matter how prestigious, may or may not accept this image because of the crop is irrelevant and in no way detracts from this amazing image.

Enter the image in the BBC; enter it in other contests. If the BBC rejects it; they reject it. If other contests accept it; they accept it.

The importance of this image is that you know you made a great photograph, and we know you made a great photograph.

Congratulations! If I had a large wall in a home instead of no walls in my caravan, I would find a place for your OP.

[Doug Brown]

Seeing the size of the crop doesn't detract from my overall impression of the image. Some subjects do not lend themselves to full-frame image capture. Others don't. When photographing raptors in the wild (not from a blind), close approach is extremely difficult.

The BBC is interested in quality images that retain their quality when enlarged to the size that the contest requires for display in the exhibit. Last year they made it a requirement that images had to come from cameras with a certain number of megapixels. Next year, I think there will be a rules change that image quality needs to hold up to significant enlargement, irrespective of the number of megapixels on the sensor.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Doug. I'm not that worried about image quality, I'm sure Kiran's image could make a fine print. And the BBC can do what they want; I'm sure I won't be on the rules committee anytime soon. :) I'm interested in the value of composing in-camera. A 2x would have been an option to get closer to the composition he envisioned.

But I don't want to keep this going because it's not fair to Kiran. So, I will bow out with this comment. He made a nice image, and I know he didn't ask for this discussion.

Indeed this is probably a discussion for a separate thread (and there a few out there) rather than on Kiran's image. Kiran, I apologize for that.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Ken Watkins]

THE " BBC" discussion is interesting.

Frankly I think that to be dictated to on the basis that a large print is needed for exhibition is hardly a basis for judgement, let's face it the judges have not exactly covered themselves in roses in recent years.

The OP remains what it is an image of amazing quality with the type of manipulation that I think is perfectly acceptable.

[Chris Martinez]

I can't believe I missed this beautiful image. I Know it must have been a such a thrill to be there and experience this amazing event. Can't wait to see more from the series.

WOW!!!!!!!!!

[Kiran Poonacha]

Sorry dear friends for coming in so late to reply. was out shooting :) I should thank you all for giving me a great opportunity to learn all these things. without you all I would still be a frog in the well. you guys have thought me so much in bird photography and sure you guys have a big hand in making my passion a reality. I am still learning though so please dont stop teaching me.

"Kiran, It was 1984 and I was a total beginner I went looking for a Saw-Whet Owl at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. I was so, so proud that I found one on my own. I had my 400mm lens with me and wanted to get some pix. But there was one big dead branch right in the way. I knew that this species could be quite tame and accepting so I decided to try to break the branch gently. It cracked like a rifle shot and the bird flew never to be seen again. It was the last time that I tried something like that.... Live and learn and love what is."

You said it guru...

Thanks you all for all the support..

Love all

Kiran

[Grace Scalzo]

Kiran, This is beautiful. So well seen and created. A story so well told.

[Vinit Menon]

I first saw this image in the Better Photography magazine and must say was an excellent image.
Happy to see this again in the forum.