Theme: Fire Alarm

[Brian Sump]

Hey all, have been south of the border with my bride enjoying some time away. Sorry for not chiming in, tried to get caught up.

As for this one, it took me way out of my comfort zone. I was aiming for something a little different and ended up submitting last month for a competition. Fully prepared to get beat up here but can't grow if we stay in a box I guess.

Nothing cloned or edited, slight crop. Tried several iterations and landed here based on the subject being positioned in the left and upper 1/3's. Sure this falls more in the artistic category than it does strong techs...

Canon R5
840mm
Handheld
ISO 1600
1/1250
f7.1

LR and PS. Liked the grittiness better than I did with NR.

[gail bisson]

The BG is wonderful. Love the colors and the reds surrounding the grasses below.
I think that not using NR was a good call artistically.
I am not crazy about the perch and I am not sure why. It is well placed in the frame and the diagonal line is very nice.
I think it overwhelms the setting a bit? Just can't put my finger on my reaction to the perch.
None the less, a very strong frame.
Well done!
Gail

[Wayne Niz]

Great pic, I love the concept and flow and mix of colors, well done

[Kurt Bowman]

I light in this image really rocks Brian! Love how it looks like the ground is on fire with this reds. Really nice singing pose and silhouette!

[dankearl]

Brian, nice image, superb desert sky..
Personally I would have used NR out of habit maybe because it just looks noisy to me, I don't visualize beautiful sunsets as gritty...
You mentioned competition, you never know, I do not feel the subject is award winning, Blackbird on a cattail?
My opinion, take it for what it is...

[Dorian Anderson]

Yes, a striking image for sure, Brian. The noise doesn't bother me one bit on a shot like this, and I think you put the bird in the best possible place given the lighting.

However, I wish you had been able to get a bit higher and shoot down a bit more;. The red feels like an afterthought compared to the yellow, and I think the image
would be stronger if the color gradient ran through the subject. I tend to agree with Dan about the subject, unfortunately. But it's still a really pretty result!

[Brian Sump]

The BG is wonderful. Love the colors and the reds surrounding the grasses below.
I think that not using NR was a good call artistically.
I am not crazy about the perch and I am not sure why. It is well placed in the frame and the diagonal line is very nice.
I think it overwhelms the setting a bit? Just can't put my finger on my reaction to the perch.
None the less, a very strong frame.
Well done!
Gail

Gail, thanks for your honest critique. I've not ever shot anything like this so it's a new horizon for me.

I think I see what you mean. Perhaps it's that the head of the cattail is too long compared to the stem that is visible.

Great pic, I love the concept and flow and mix of colors, well done

Wayne, thanks very much for your warm and thoughtful comments!

I light in this image really rocks Brian! Love how it looks like the ground is on fire with this reds. Really nice singing pose and silhouette!

Kurt, very glad to hear you appreciate this one for what it is! Definitely different.

Brian, nice image, superb desert sky..
Personally I would have used NR out of habit maybe because it just looks noisy to me, I don't visualize beautiful sunsets as gritty...
You mentioned competition, you never know, I do not feel the subject is award winning, Blackbird on a cattail?
My opinion, take it for what it is...

Dan, your comments are received. The noise is definitely a subjective thing here and very atypical for me.

RE the competition, I don't think any of my shots are worthy. People keep telling me to enter so I'm stretching myself. If nothing else, pushing to get shots where you can't manipulate in post is good practice. Experience breeds confidence...

Yes, a striking image for sure, Brian. The noise doesn't bother me one bit on a shot like this, and I think you put the bird in the best possible place given the lighting.

However, I wish you had been able to get a bit higher and shoot down a bit more;. The red feels like an afterthought compared to the yellow, and I think the image
would be stronger if the color gradient ran through the subject. I tend to agree with Dan about the subject, unfortunately. But it's still a really pretty result!

Thanks Dorian. I appreciate the validation RE noise. And yes, RWB are nothing special.

Your thoughts are certainly valid on the gradient. The challenge I had was if I went higher, the head of the cattail buried itself in the rest of the reeds and I felt the comp needed some of the stem. In hindsight, perhaps not....

[Joseph Przybyla]

Looks like one of Artie's. Lovely image... Thank you for sharing, Brian.

[William Dickson]

I think you handled the situation well...The BG colours look real good....Personally I would have added NR to the BG...The HA could be looking away or towards the viewer as I see it here....With these kind of shots, that I have looked at in the past, I found that the bird looking straight ahead and slightly upwards works best.

Will

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Brian .... fire works on steroids !!
Good to see you exploring other things and go a tiny bit OOTB .
I am 50/50 about the noise .... might temper it a bit without completely removing it .
Just wish the bird would have been 100% parallel to the sensor ... but this is complaint on a high level .

Cool job on all counts , Brian

TFS Andreas

[Brian Sump]

Looks like one of Artie's. Lovely image... Thank you for sharing, Brian.

Joe, to be in a category likened to Artie is a treat. Thank you for your kind words!

I think you handled the situation well...The BG colours look real good....Personally I would have added NR to the BG...The HA could be looking away or towards the viewer as I see it here....With these kind of shots, that I have looked at in the past, I found that the bird looking straight ahead and slightly upwards works best.

Will

Will, I hear ya on the NR. I was torn and took a little creative liberty on this one. I'll probably process one with it too.

You're right, the HA is tough to know for sure. I actually have some in another setting that are similar with the tail flared and looking more upward. May try to take a swing at those ones, thanks for the suggestions!

Hi Brian .... fire works on steroids !!
Good to see you exploring other things and go a tiny bit OOTB .
I am 50/50 about the noise .... might temper it a bit without completely removing it .
Just wish the bird would have been 100% parallel to the sensor ... but this is complaint on a high level .

Cool job on all counts , Brian

TFS Andreas

Andreas, your comments are very well noted and received. I will take a crack at a slight NR variation. Appreciate you taking notice of pushing the envelope, I feel like we're stuck in a box on here sometimes.... :-)

[Andreas Liedmann]

Brian ... you put yourself in a box , nobody else . Specially when you think .... you need to make some specialists happy

[John Mack]

Well the title certainly matches the image. I do like the gradient from red to orange. I personally would like the blacks smoothed out.