Black-lit

[Arthur Morris]

Linda Robbins and I came upon this situation at Merritt Island NWR last week. Both of our eyes got big as saucers. This image, inspired by some images in the new Andy Rouse book, was created with the 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-50D on the Mongoose M-3.5 and the Gitzo CF 3530. ISO 250. Evaluative metering -1 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/5.6.

I should have used a higher ISO for a higher shutter speed. I tried to make the shadowed side of the bird brighter but could not do anymore.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome. I am here to learn too.

[Doug Brown]

What a dramatic image Artie! Great title too. The water droplets convey a nice sense of action and they look like diamonds against the black BG. I like the way the bird occupies a relatively small portion of the frame; it helps emphasize the blackness.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

This is exceptional Artie. :) Works great even without eye contact, those splashes of water adding much to an otherwise non-dynamic image. Meaning it would still be nice if the Egret was just standing in the water, but the action itself is what puts it above many I have seen. It is simply a BAA Dit ist nikt vogel, dit ist kunst moment (Quoted from your book and memory).

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Doug. Black-lit is a BAA original and will take its place with others that I have come up with over the years including "bird-scape," "virtual feet," "look-back head angle," and a few others that I cannot think of right ow (he said modestly...)

Linda had a killer VERT.

[Arthur Morris]

This is exceptional Artie. :) Works great even without eye contact, those splashes of water adding much to an otherwise non-dynamic image. Meaning it would still be nice if the Egret was just standing in the water, but the action itself is what puts it above many I have seen. It is simply a BAA Dit ist nikt vogel, dit ist kunst moment (Quoted from your book and memory).

Dear Oh-gosh,

I think that that was Belgian...

[Jim Fenton]

Artie....

Pretty darned cool image.

I like th negative space which the black with no texture provides and the water droplets gives this excellent highlight points showing movement.

personally, I think the shadowed side of the bird is just right...any brighter and I think the image would loose some of it's quality.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

This is great and I like it a lot. The composition, pose and droplets make this one for me. I'm not entirely sure, does it need a tad CW rotation?

[Sid Garige]

I am a big fan of black background and white bird images. This is brilliant. Size of the subject and composition are perfect. Action with water droplets is added bonus.
All in all a great image.

[David Thomasson]

A+ on that one. Beautiful!

[Michael Stern]

Artie,
Great Image! Would like to know what time of day it was taken and how that helped to obtain the black background.
Congratulations! Awesome!
Michael

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Dear Oh-gosh,

I think that that was Belgian...

Yes Sir it was in Belgian, though I am not sure my spelling is correct. And yes, Oh_gosh it's A(r)kos(h) has been used too, just forgot to mention in my email. :eek::eek:

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Two pictures in one.

That's what I saw in this one. On one hand you have the bird catching its pray, on the other you have a night sky full of stars.
Way to go!

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

The water droplets and the black bg makes a beautiful image!!!

[Daniel Cadieux]

What caught my eye at first was the very cool arched water trail from bill-tip curving down across the body. That alone makes the head movement come alive. I'm glad you couldn't make the shadowed side brighter...I'm even thinking it could look even more dramatic darker!

[Dave Leroy]

I really like how you have subtracted all the light from the water and bg. It is 0 everywhere. Then for me, the white bird and action is just boom, right there. Very, very nice. Dave

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, Great Image! Would like to know what time of day it was taken and how that helped to obtain the black background. Congratulations! Awesome! Michael

Hi Micheal, It was about 9:30 am. There were some big trees on the far side of the pond and the sun was coming over the tops of the trees. The section of the pond behind the birds was in shadow, thus the black backgrounds.

[Kris Mortensen]

Stunning image! Being new to photography, I am just discovering this type of presentation and loving every image! Really nice work! I too am a bit confused as to what 'blacks' out the background so completely? Is it mainly the fast shutter speed?

[Arthur Morris]

Stunning image! Being new to photography, I am just discovering this type of presentation and loving every image! Really nice work! I too am a bit confused as to what 'blacks' out the background so completely? Is it mainly the fast shutter speed?

Hey Chris, Thanks. The background was in shadow while the sun coming over the tops of the trees lit the birds from the rear. The image in this pane is the converted RAW without and adjustment. With the dark BKGR I know that I needed to underexpose (-1 stop) at the time of capture to prevent burnig the highlights. With different camera bodies you would need different exposure compensation values to avoid flashing highlights.

Once I brought the image into Photoshop I moved the shadow slider well past the clipping point to deepen the blacks and leave them detail-less. If you are just getting started and would seriously like to improve I would recommend ABP, ABP II, and Digital Basics. :) :) :)

[Ramon M. Casares]

Pure FINE ART. There's nothing I would change here, love the comp, light, detail, moment, I just loved it from thevthumbail. Congratulations Artie!

[Raymond Barlow]

Congrats Artie, definitly a classic image.., right time, right place, and knowing exactly what to do., well done.

[Kris Mortensen]

Thanks for the explanation! I had it on good authority that I should read ABP, which I did. Haven't got to the other two, yet. Thanks again!