Spoonie group preen

[Randy Stout]

This spoonie was imaged on Alafia Banks while out with Capt. James. Another magical afternoon.

I have had this image done for a while, but kept debating about the composition and bright portions of other spoonies in the background. I have already run multiply selections on a number of very*bright areas, to tone them down.

I do find my eye tends to move around in the image, starting with the front bird, and then circling back to the rear ones and then back to the front bird again.

D300 600 with 1.4 TC, f/5.6 1/1000sec ISO 500 Gitzo/Wimberley II, standing in the water.

Post: 40% crop from sides, selective sharpening and toning down of hightlights

Advice and comments always appreciated. In particular, thoughts on comp. and relative brightness.

Cheers

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

nice preening pose, good low angle and sharp details only the OOF birds in the BG weaken this image IMO.

[Ofer Levy]

Ditto what Arash said. I think it needs some CCW rotation.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image.Beautiful pose.Lovely colors and details.

[Stu Bowie]

Randy, the detail and colours on the front spoonie are exquisite. Sharpness too. Good preening pose, showing up the head and eye nicely. I do agree this needs a touch of CCW rotation. I feel if the head wasnt against the OOF spoonie, I wouldnt have worried about them.

[denise ippolito]

Beautiful pose and sharpness. I think the brightness and comp.look good. I like the one Spoonie on the left. Nice to get so close.:S3:

[Sachin Saraf]

This is an excellent image...Love the Pose, Exposure and Sharpness...the birds in BG are bit distracting to my eyes.

[Grace Scalzo]

I'll be the exception to the rule and say that I really like this, with the oof birds in the bg. It is interesting, colorful, rich, and yes, my eye moves around too. I'm thinking that the size for web posting hurts it, printed large, I bet it would be a real delight. As for the CCW, looks like it needs it but would the spoonie then be leaning?

[Dumay de Boulle]

Great IQ and light. Like the pose of the spoonie. Needs a CCW rotation and the OOF birds dont work for me. Especially the bright pink section directly above the main spoonies head. Also the whites in the OOF birds are glowing(blown) so that also draws the eye. I really like the blue water and the pink feather combo. TFS Randy

[Nico Steenberg]

Nice low angle and colurs. Like the comp and natural colours. A super IMG !

[Marina Scarr]

I find this image quite interesting and pleasing. I don't believe it needs any rotation. If you check the water line and leg reflection, you'll see that it is straight. It's the BG water that makes it look off. I have to agree with Stuart that I would have preferred the back right Spoonie not be right behind the front bird's head. However, that said, There are a lot of details to like about this image.

[Craig Brelsford]

Randy, I appreciate your self-criticism above, in which you say that you find your eyes moving around the image. You had a lot of tough decisions to make in preparing this image, and I think you've done about as well as can be expected. The spoonbill in the foreground is exquisite; I can understand why you went to all the trouble, seeing how gorgeous he is, and in a good preening pose, too. The other birds offend my eye, but not my mind; my eye says, I want simplicity, but my mind says, but these are gregarious birds, the photo is utterly typical of them.

[Troy Lim]

I agree with the slight CCW rotation. Exposure is spot on and love the sharpness. Not crazy about the OOF birds. TFS.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the input. I was conflicted about this one, and it sat for a long time after I processed it.

I did rotate the image originally so that the two legs entry into the water were level (as Marina pointed out) The shorelines run at an angle there, so it is deceptive.

I am always trying for a composition a bit different than my usual ones, so had to give it a go!

Cheers

Randy