Pin Point Landing
It's not text book by any stretch... I do like the shadow under the near wing as it seems to give it some depth. He'd just transitioned from flight to landing position hence the skip of the feet off the water, ripple behind and droplets in front... Breakfast in hand (or bill as the case may be) is always a plus I think.
Curious what you think... Comments, suggestions always welcome!
Thank for looking...
Steve
40D & 500 L f4.5, ISO 400, f5 @ 1/4000, 0EV
Seems like an impossibly tiny perch for such a large bird...he looks as though he is concentrating on his landing! The outstretched feet are great and your composition is good. The whites on the upper wing are a little over, but I agree with you that the shadowing on the near wing is nice. An interesting moment captured!
Thank you Linda for looking and it does seem like a very tiny perch, but he did in fact make the landing!
I adjust the whites a bit... Better?
Steve
The whites in the repost look better. I like the pose, really makes you wonder how he can land on this little perch.
Both are acceptable with a slight edge to the repost. Love the pose and the feet. The biggest problems are with the sharpness of the head and face and with the fact that the head is turned 1 degree away from you. 1 degree towards you would make a world of difference...
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Axel... Artie... Thank you both for looking and for your comments!
Artie... A couple of questions 4 U...
1) How in the world can you see that the head is turned 1 degree away from the camera? (I'm not arguing... and I definitely haven't looked at NEAR as many images as you have... Just trying to figure it out?)
2) I know about the HAP and that your 'Chief of HAP'... In some crits of yours I seem to remember you saying parallel to the sensor plane was good. (I might be thinking of someone else.) It's hard (for me) to imagine that 1 degree of head angle (or in this case 2) can make that much of a difference. Why is that and to whom will it really make that much difference? Do your clients or patrons really notice things like that when considering an image for purchase?
Again.. Not arguing... Want to learn!
Thanks again guys!
Steve
Hi Steve,
re:
Thank you both for looking and for your comments!
YAW
Artie... A couple of questions 4 U...
No problema. That is what we are here for.
1) How in the world can you see that the head is turned 1 degree away from the camera? (I'm not arguing... and I definitely haven't looked at NEAR as many images as you have... Just trying to figure it out?)
Yes, I have looked at a few. If you look very closely, you will see that the bird's head and bill are turned ever-so-slighly away from you. (See this post:
http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=23951
where Fabs nailed a similar 1 degree head turn away...
Is it really 1,00 degrees turned away? No, I use that to indicate and ever so slight head turn...
2) I know about the HAP and that your 'Chief of HAP'... In some crits of yours I seem to remember you saying parallel to the sensor plane was good.
Parallel is good. 1-4 degrees towards you is usually but not always better.
(I might be thinking of someone else.)
Nope. That would be me.
It's hard (for me) to imagine that 1 degree of head angle (or in this case 2) can make that much of a difference. Why is that
Why does it make a difference?
and to whom will it really make that much difference?
I do not know or care to whom it will really make that much difference to other than me. For me, if the bird's head is angled even slightly away it almost always is an image wrecker. I have deleted some very wonderful images for lack of a good head angle. To me it seems to signify that you did not have a connection with your (or with my) subject.
Do your clients or patrons really notice things like that when considering an image for purchase?
All of the images with bad head angles are deleted and we sell few prints anyway, and the general public is basically ignorant. Sadly, the same goes for the photo editors at most magazines.
So basically, head angle only matters to me and to those who wish to create the very best, most artistic, most powerful images of birds. Basically a small group. But one of the reasons we are here is to make that group larger...
Again.. Not arguing... Want to learn!
See my comments above. No argument from me! I am here to learn too.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
ps: I just took a second look at the image. If you look closely at the bill tip and then at the neck you can see that the bill tip is a bit farther away than the neck. That is how you tell. Whether or not you care is up to you. IAC, not much that you could have done in this case but it is always good to be aware of as many of the factors that determine how good an image is.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
Thanks a bunch Artie... I appreciate your frank feedback and responses.
Will be at your Thanksgiving lunch again this year and look forward to meeting you.
Steve
Excellent timing, and love the wing spread. Well captured Steve.
Beautiful action you captured and your timing was perfect Steve, These are such elegant birds and you really captured their beauty in this image. I love it !!
For me this image is perfect, I know what they say is fact and the learning curve is why were here, but the timing and wing position and detail are beautiful, and certainly wish it were mine.
Bill
I agree that we generally would like the head turned a little more towards us but in this case would not the subject have missed his landing mark in doing so ?Originally Posted by Arthur Morris
Nicely framed and good timing. The little fish is a bonus.
Last edited by Mike Tracy; 11-15-2008 at 10:32 AM.
YAW. Nobody ever has to prompt me to be frank. :) :) :)
Super; we have lots of room left for Thanksgiving lunch. Please e-mail for details.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
We can never know for sure but if it is landing OK with the head 1 degree away from us then I do not think that 1 degree toward us would cause any problems...
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
For me it's an excellent image - timing is great. I would be exciting to have some photo like this!
Thank you all for looking and commenting! I do understand Artie's points and why he makes them... He is indeed trying only to help all of us make the best images possible. I do however think I'll be keeping this one... At least until I get one just that little bit better.
Thank you all again!
Steve
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