Hello, it's me...

Hi guys (and I mean that in a non-gender-specific kind of way)! I am back after an extended leave of absence due to health issues. Starting in March of last year I had three surgeries in nine months, including spinal fusion with hardware in September. Also in September my wife was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. So while I was trying to recover from my own issues, my wife has been through five months of chemo and three weeks ago had a mastectomy. I know that's probably more information than you needed, but I feel compelled to explain my absence. We are both getting back to normal life, at least as much as possible, and I am glad to be able to get back to work here... :c3: I may be re-posting some old images for a while, at least until I can get out more to shoot some new ones, please bear with me!

For the theme I'm posting this image that uses a very shallow DOF to help lead the viewer's eye to the little gosling's eye.

Nice processing Kerry. Love the sharp eye and contact. I wonder about darkening the BG from the vertical line up for more separation between the gosling and BG. Nice to have you back!

I'm glad to see you back, too, Kerry. The colors, the limited depth of field, and the crook in the gosling's neck combine to make this a very appealing image.

Hi Kerry, this is a beautiful image. The processing compliments the limited depth extremely well. I wish the brown bg area didn't merge so strongly with the subject as it pulls on the eye, especially the orange hotspot on the goslings back-but it's not a deal breaker. Glad to see you back and posting, looking forward to more!

Hi Kerry,

I've been too busy to comment on the great images the last few days, but had to respond to this one to wish yo both the best, and full recoveries!

Hi, Kerry, welcome back:S3: I love this image.

Kerry, wonderful to have your unique view of the world back! This is darling and I love the sharp eye looking up as the head is in buried in the grass. The overall softness of the image is perfect for a fluffy gosling and I like the wave-like motion of the bkgd. Looking forward to seeing more of you :S3:!

Kerry,

Greetings. Good eye on this one ;-) Good to see you back posting... Hope it's a speedy recovery for you and your wife.

Cheers,

-Michael-

I'm sorry to hear about the health issues and hope you are both doing better now. Glad to see you posting again. This is a great example of nice DOF with the sharp eye and I love your processing!

Love the selective focus on the eye. Enough said about the image. Main message, great to have you back.

My eye goes right to the gosling's eye. You achieved your intent. Lovely softness in processing and colors. This little guy is cute. I like what you did with his/her feathers--they look fluffy and soft. The bg merging into the gosling doesn't bother me. I might darken the curvy lighter area in the right part of the image.
You have been through a lot in the last year! I'm sorry to learn about your wife's cancer. Must have been a tough time for both of you.

Thanks everyone, I'm glad to be back! :bg3: