Foot Motif: Mute Swan: my first pic post

[Ann Fiske]

Hi Folks!
I'm in awe of the wonderful photos posted on this site. The great conversation and educational tools, I've been starting to read, and hope to get up to par.:o So first, let me say Thanks !

Thought I'd start by joining in on the footsie fun. This Swan was semi-cooperative and I have other foot pictures. Played with levels on this to darken the shadowed foot. Maybe overall too dark. Left the enviornmental stuff. Does it work?
Any and all C&C desired and appreciated.
Thanks, Ann


Camera Model: Canon EOS 20D
Focal Length: 300.0mm (35mm equivalent: 480...
Exposure Time: 0.0016 s (1/640)
Aperture: f/16.0
ISO Equiv.: 400
Exposure Bias: -0.67
Whitebalance: Auto
Metering Mode: matrix
Exposure: aperture priority (semi-auto)

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Ann

Interesting detail and you have done well.

I might be tempted to crop in harder say 700 x 400 working from just behind the rear of the foot, all the way across and down to just above the straw. It cuts out a lot of the distracting elements out of view and makes you concentrate on the FEET!!! Would also suggest a few more rounds of USM just over the feet to sharpen them up a tad, but be careful.;) They then come alive, I think.;)

Hope this helps
Steve

[Dave Mills]

Hi Ann, Some good suggestions by Steve. When one shoots an image like this the less distractions the stronger the image. I took the liberty to work on the image to show you what I mean. One can't always get a clean shot but at times it's something IMO to strive for.
I like your basic comp along with the lighting on the foot.
I did the repost quickly so please excuse repeats or artifacts in the cloning..

[Steve Kaluski]

Interesting Dave, this was mine which helped to compile my thoughts.

[Ann Fiske]

Thanks Steve and Dave! :)
Dave, I like your re-post better than mine. Here's mine, but think I did too much cropping this time.
Are my images too big? :eek:

Ann

[Dave Mills]

Hi Ann,I cropped a bit but the rest I cloned out. Important to leave some space on the bottom...

[Bill Dix]

Hi Ann. Welcome! You've come to the right place; BPN is the place to learn. Nice foot. Dave's repost brings out the potential in it, with a combination of tight crop and cloning out the extraneous stuff. Keep 'em coming.

[Ann Fiske]

Thanks again guys.

Steve,
I think I was working on the re-post when you posted yours. I like yours too, and better than mine, as we were thinking the same way.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Anne - big warm welcome to BPN - Nice first post - looking forward to seeing many more.

Some good advice and reposts from Steve and Dave - Like them.
Keep em coming :)

[Richard Waas]

Welcome aboard Anne. This is the best site online IMHO. The people are great and the critiques are super helpful!! Keep 'em coming.......

[Ann Fiske]

Thank-You Lance and Richard.
So much to learn. I love reading the critiques.:)

[Rachel Hollander]

Ann - Welcome and a word of caution, I've only been a member for about 2 weeks and it's very addictive. The advice is always great and everyone has been so nice. Catching up on past threads is very time consuming. Unfortunately, my day job interferes with it. Looking forward to more posts.

Rachel