THEME - A Willet for Dave

Dave was partial to green herons but I wanted to do something plain and simple. I used DAP Benson on this one. I'll have to dig through my images and find a greenie for him:S3:

This one will do very nicely! I love the treatment, BG texture, bit of foliage and the low angle.

Not sure if the crooked horizon was intentional or not. The image doesn't feel like it needs a rigid formality, but it's just off enough to look like an oversight. If it were more irregular maybe it would be less noticeable, but it wasn't, so..... Undecided about it.

Nice job, Cheryl. Although Dave Phillips and I must not have overlapped, I have the feeling that what you did is just right. In any case, it's quite wonderful. I like the soft blue, brown, and gray colors, and that soulful eye. The composition is great, and I really like the aspect ratio you chose. It somehow seems appropriate that the willet is looking out of the frame.

Cheryl...this is timeless, a work of art and a stellar tribute. It echoes some of the pieces I viewed on Dave's website without mimicking them. A simple yet strong composition offset with subtle hues, it feels like a living, breathing, classical still life. Diane's sharp eye caught the horizon, I thought it was uneven terrain and feel it's ok the way it is. Straightening it out might make enough of a difference on the birds pose to offset the change. This is a work that would fit well in a gallery exhibit.

Diane, the willet is on a mound of sand and those are waves in the background so I'm not sure how you would determine the horizon? Anyway, I'm not sure birds always sit "square to the world":S3:

The top edge of the sand, in sharp focus, is an "apparent" horizon (and the only horizon). But how to treat it is artist's choice. Try leveling and see how it compares....

A much less obvious "horizon" that is not level will jump out at me, but many people will never notice it. Princess and the pea thing, I guess...

Well done, Cheryl! The horizon could be tipped a bit but the bird seems to be leaning to our right, so for me, this balances the image and a horizon parallel to the bottom frame edge could be a bit boring, IMO.

Hi, Diane, I think the horizon question was more philosophical than technical. I think our own personalities have a lot to do with our perspectives and particularly from an artistic standpoint tend to flavor our work. I have always been a fan of wabi sabi -

Wabi-sabi (侘寂^?) represents a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.

Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes.

Maybe it's because I grew up in the 60's and was more or less a free spirit who didn't believe in conformity but I tend to overlook or purposely ignore "rules" at times when I'm composing. I think you need to be mindful of them but should choose when they will work for you and when they won't.

This is just an explanation of my thought process when preparing an image - not a defense that it is any better or worse than leveling the virtual horizon.:S3:

This is a beauty Cheryl, love the colour scheme and the BG. Nice detail on the willet.

Cheryl a lovely piece of art, Dave would love it.

Lovely , quiet and cool in tone. I really like this image. Funny to call a still photo quiet, but that is what I get from this one.

A beautiful and calming image. One of those I want to look at longer. I love the simplicity. The leaves balance the bird. The cool colors with bits of warmth are, well, cool. I like that the bird is looking out. Beautiful bg, and nice detail in the bird. I find the slight tilt of the horizon line disturbing. I straightened it, and found that a straight horizon does not detract from the image. Excellent work.

Simple smooth and pretty, me likes!!!