Hello, it's me...

[Kerry Perkins]

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... 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.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

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!

[Dennis Bishop]

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.

[Randall Farhy]

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!

[Diane Miller]

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!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Kerry, welcome back I love this image.

[Nancy Bell]

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 !

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

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-

[Judy Howle]

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!

[gary ellwein]

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

[Anita Bower]

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.

[Kerry Perkins]

Thanks everyone, I'm glad to be back!