Great Kiskadee - triangle

[Russ Chantler]

This shot has me confused. Some days I like it and other days it leaves me cold. I find the triangle shape to be interesting, but maybe that's leadig my eye away from the bird's head. Interested in what you guys think.

[Doug Hitchcox]

I can understand the mixed feelings of this shot but you did a great job getting a flight shot thats tack sharp where it needs to be. I think the biggest issue is the very dark area above the bird; I quickly lightened this up by cloning in some of the colors from the bottom with a very soft brush (there is probably a better way) and it really made the bird pop.

[Alex Thomson13]

Russ
As for the image don't let it leave you cold :)
It's a good shot and a great capture of the in-flight. I personally love motion blur especially on the wings. Any sense of movement adds to the image for me.
I think the problem with the image is simply that it's cropped too tight and the bird is smack dab in the middle of the frame. A little more space all the way around and much more to the left of the frame would help quite a bit.

[Arthur Morris]

I can dig your love hate relationship with this one. On one hand, it is an amazing capture--sharp with a killer wing position. On the other hand, it is way contrasty and the dark above is a big problem that is exacerbated because of the bird's dark cap and mask.

There is too much room below the bird and your name is in a weird spot.

Please explain the situation that led to your creating this image.

[Dick Glover]

Russ,
This is such a dramatic and eye catching image, it would be worth trying to deal with the points made by
Artie and Doug. The location of your name is quite distracting yet easy to fix. I love the shape and the contrast between the sharp head and the blur of the wings. Thanks for posting.

[Russ Chantler]

This Kiskadee is hovering at a log feeder filled with a peanut butter mix. Being flycatchers, they will often hover & then move in to steal a quick bite. Manually focued on the plane of the feeder & firing 5 frames a second without looking through the viewfinder. Deleted lots, and got a few. Was trying to get the grass as background, but couldn't get any higher.

Name positioned where it is to try to thwart internet thieves who would simply crop the name out if it wasn't obtrusive.

[Richard Lovison]

I'm not in position to offer critiques as I'm new to this forum and frankly, in awe of the overall talent and humbled by the expertise of the members. With that said, I find this image remarkable. The captured moment in time of this bird in flight is simply beautiful. Yes your watermark is poorly placed, probably the image can be improved by cropping differently and some background adjustment could emphasize the head more, but these are minor adjustments. The foundation of this image is rock solid in my opinion.

When I look at this photograph, I'm drawn to the shape of the entire bird captured in flight, with the blurred wings giving a sense of motion. You've given me a sense of the true essence of this creature.

[Arthur Morris]

I'm not in position to offer critiques as I'm new to this forum and frankly, in awe of the overall talent and humbled by the expertise of the members. With that said, I find this image remarkable. The captured moment in time of this bird in flight is simply beautiful. Yes your watermark is poorly placed, probably the image can be improved by cropping differently and some background adjustment could emphasize the head more, but these are minor adjustments. The foundation of this image is rock solid in my opinion.

When I look at this photograph, I'm drawn to the shape of the entire bird captured in flight, with the blurred wings giving a sense of motion. You've given me a sense of the true essence of this creature.

Hey Richard. Welcome, and thanks for your excellent critique. It seems that you are very much in position to offer critiques here....

[Thomas Herou]

I really like this picture.The backround is superb and the pose likewise.
The dark area on the head is a minor detail in my opinion because you
have a nice shine in the eye.

[Arthur Morris]

I really like this picture.The backround is superb and the pose likewise. The dark area on the head is a minor detail in my opinion because you have a nice shine in the eye.

In general, dark above/light below BKGRs are problematic as the viewer's eye is drawn to the lighter lower portion of the image and thus away from the subject. With this bird having a black cap and mask that problem is exacerbated in this photograph.

[Russ Chantler]

I reworked this image based upon the suggestions above. In particular, I took out the large expanse of dark background, and I opened up the crop a bit. I think the result is much better and serves to nicely illustrate the problems with the original image. Thanks to all for your coments

[Arthur Morris]

Wow! The repost is about 1000 times better but not sure why you insist on putting your name so close to the bird's feet. I am not one to abide by what is proper but here the signature is very distracting. It would look 1000 times better in the llc.

Please let us know what you did to improve the BKGR so much.

[Russ Chantler]

To improve the background, I out-selected the upper portion of the bird, where the edges were clean, and simply cloned in grass from other areas of the shot. The end of the tail was a bit tricky and needed some special attention. I also backed the contrast off a bit.

For stuff I post on the internet, I put my name in close proximity to the subject to thwart internet thieves who might simply crop out the name. I do it in relief to make it as unobtrusive as I can, but in a shot like this there isn't anywhere to hide it and still keep it in a tight-cropped frame.