A gaggle of gannets

[Nancy Bell]

These Cape Gannets nest and roost so tightly that there is essentially no space between them. A terrific technique for keeping the predators back as no animal would try to invade a solid wall of long, dangerous beaks. However the birds do also quarrel among themselves and seem to be in a constant state of activity.

I am a die-hard fan of Fractalius for simplifying an image and allowing me to bring out just those details I want to emphasize. The gannets have elegant lines and colorful blue rings around their eyes. It was hard to get an image that I could find a few gannet faces unobscured by other gannet parts!

[Judy Howle]

Wow, that is a tightly packed grouping! I really like the simplicity of the lines and colors. Love the one on the left looking up!!

[Dennis Bishop]

The combination of strong and subtle elements is wonderful. Immediately, my attention was captured by the eyes and the diagonals of the beaks, but I couldn't help looking further to see what else was there. I was delighted to find the pair of love birds at the top center. Very nicely done!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Wow, Nancy, this is spectacular - I love the minimalist, high key look. Gannets are so elegant and this emphasizes that. Beautiful work

[David Cowling]

This is a super image. The placement of the in focus bird looking up is exactly right. Very striking image with a lot of impact.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you all for looking and your comments!

[Kerry Perkins]

Amazing image Nancy! Huge wow factor with all the contrasting light and dark tones. The composition works great, with the bills pointing different directions implying that the eye can escape the cramped group of birds. Really nice job, it shows so many attributes of the birds and their environment.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you Kerry!

[Diane Miller]

Wonderful! I've never seen anything quite like this -- very well done!

Maybe a tad of added canvas bottom and tight? Easy to cheat on with an abstract image!

[Nancy Bell]

Diane, this is a crop from a larger image. So many heads going every which way that I took lots of images to look at later. Can't remember if I added canvas on the bottom, maybe I did to balance the image. Although maybe I could do with less at the bottom. And yes, I do appreciate the latitude you can get when making an image abstract!

[Anita Bower]

I think you did a fantastic job! Love the semi-abstract look. An arresting image. You are a master with fractilius! I love the soft colors and the definition created by the beaks and eyes. I think you captured the look of these birds in a somewhat abstract way. The shapes are fascinating. The bird to the right of Dennis' love birds bothers me a bit because the shapes of beak and eyes, seen straight on, are not graceful. I think I would prefer it to be blurred much like the love birds. Excellent work.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you Anita! The head-on view of that bird you mention bothers me too. I tried to find a happy medium for it. But I really wanted that one bird on the left and was forced to include all those surrounding it. Maybe I'll play around with this some more.