Winter Painting - Trumpeter in the woods

[Randy Stout]

This image was captured last weekend. Another dark and snowy day in Michigan.

Despite the somber lighting, I liked the sense of depth created by the receding woods in the BG, the snow in the air.

D4 600VR f/5 1/3200 ISO 1250 Manual Wimberley/Gitzo

Post: Full frame. Selective sharpening on the bird. Localized contrast adjustment on bird with Color Efex Pro.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely and moody, Randy. Snowflakes and BG add a lot. I think a pano would also work with this image. I just tried it and liked it a lot.

[Nick Palmieri]

Great environment! I love the whole feel of this image. Crop works well but I think pano would also be nice.

[gail bisson]

Hi Randy,
I really like the BG. It looks like a snowy road is meandering into the woods on the left.
I also like the snow and the flight position.Whites look good.
I wish I could see the face and eye area a bit better. I am terrible at flash and wonder if flash would have helped in this situation?
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Thanks folks.

Marina : My favorite part of the image is the BG, so hadn't thought about a pano. Will tinker with it a bit. Thanks

Gail: This bird was out quite a ways, and it was snowing, so flash wasn't going to do much. They have very black bills and eyes, and there wasn't any direct like to give it much spark I am afraid.

Thanks!

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

The good part is you can still keep your lovely & moody BG but add a little emphasis on your subject. WDYT?

[Grace Scalzo]

An interesting discussion emerging here regarding composition. I think that both crops do work. I love the mood in Randy's op with the dark bg and a bit more room. Only thing I would change is a sliver off the bottom.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot.
Excellent flight pose, the snow fall bumps up this imate another notch.
Wonderful background and Im ok with either comp.
Well done.

[Bill Dix]

Lovely OP. I was going to say that a pano would lose the painterly feeling of the bg, but then I saw Marina's repost, which keeps the painterly feeling and removes the distracting white bottom. Nice shot, nice repost.

[arash_hazeghi]

great exposure and depiction of ambiance. sharp details. I like the BG as well, just wish the wings were full up or down.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for the comments and input, and esp. Marina for the repost. Always fun to see different interpretations! I will look at it again in a few days with 'fresher eyes' so to speak!

Arash- I agree, not a very dramatic wing position. These guys do a lot of very shallow beats of their wings, esp. when gliding in for a landing, so hard to get a big up or down unless they are taking off or flaring on final for landing.

Cheers

Randy

[Doug Brown]

I like the mood of the frame, but prefer Marina's crop to the original. The swans that I've seen in flight don't give you the most dynamic wing positions for the most part.

[Sandy Witvoet]

Love this Randy... (I'm a bit late in "chiming in") Like both the OP and RP... both capture the Swan as well as the mysterious environment. Have you ever thought about positioning the swan to the upper left a bit, then leaving a rather "large" envirornment for the other 2/3rds? With maybe (if possible) a little more detail in the background? I envision this as a BIG print for an "up-north" home here.... These Swans are darn near impossible to capture with the "perfect" wing angle... as you said, they tend to glide more than "fly". Love the HA here and the feeling of freedom.

[Randy Stout]

Sandy:

This is full frame, so I am afraid moving him much would not work well. Plus, I really like the receding area in the bg just in front of the bird, and wouldn't want to lose that. It would be easy to bring out a bit more detail in the bg. I went for the softer look, but will look at a little bit sharper bg.

Thanks for commenting.

Cheers

Randy

[Sandy Witvoet]

Thanks Randy! OH... stupid ME! ARGHHH.... I actually meant move the Swan to the UR a tad! (I have left-right confusion sometimes). So Sorry! Studied your image (yet again!).... It's lovely, as-is! With the flight position and way-cool bg... a move to the UR might even make the Swan appear to be looking out of the frame. The oof foreground is serene and pleasant... as your (or my) eye would "process" the image. Hope you don't mind my comments...I love your work. Cheers to you too.