Creativity: Down by the lake at ILE

[Arthur Morris]

I try to be creative whenever I press the shutter button :) And that is true whether I am creating a simple portrait or doing something out of the box like this zoom blur. Denise Ippolito and I are working on "A Guide to Pleasing Blurs." The text below is an excerpt from the CD book. We hope to have it finished by mid-August. Those of you who have enjoyed posting images to Fabs suggested project might love hanging out at the Out-of-the Box Forum where both in-camera and Photoshop creations are welcome. Denise has been doing a great job for quite some time now and the forum is quite active.

As for my image, don't be shy: all comments are welcome.

ps: See the Bulletin and/or the blog for news on the blur guide :)

Sandhill Crane, Wildflower Zoom Blur, Indian Lake Estates, FL

Image Copyright 2009: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

I enjoy photographing the cranes that breed near my home. I am constantly battling with the management with regards to cutting the big fields of wildflowers in early spring.... I had some luck with them this year :) This one was created using the standard zoom blur techniques: Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS zoom lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIV, central sensor One-Shot AF, ISO 100. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/4 sec. at f/40. Then zoom from long to short during the exposure after making a few practice attempts to determine the wide framing. I cropped the original here to move the subject out of the center of the frame. I love the two strips of water, one light blue, and one dark blue.

[Kim Rollins]

Well Art you said don't be shy and I am not so here it goes and I hope you don't take it personal but I am going to be a bit harsh here (hoping it might wake you up).

I am shocked :eek: I can not remember ever seeing an image of this quality from you before and really don't care to see another near this quality as I prefer to view your good ones. In my opinion the blur in the photograph is not pleasing, the blue strips of the back ground would be distractions in the image if there was anything to distract from but the blur has taken care of that.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Kim for sharing your honest thoughts. Others who have seen this image have gasped at its beauty and I rather like it myself. That's why I posted it.

Do remember that good ones are in the eyes of the beholder.

[Joe Senzatimore]

While I admire the attempt at something different , I think that what hurts this one is the fact that there is nothing sharp for the viewer's eye to settle on. You have done a wonderful job of bringing the viewer to the main subject (the crane). But I think that when we get there we are left hanging/wanting more. These type of images can be quite beautiful and I feel the colors and comp. in this are great. It might make a fine abstract print for a wall hanging but I feel that with a sharp point of focus it would be much more powerful. I guess we all learn by experimintation.

[Hilary Hann]

Joe, I remember commenting on another blur of Arthur's in the OOTB forum with the same criticism regarding a sharp point to focus the eye on however with this image I don't find it a problem. I like the colour bands as they have pastel shades which are complementary and I like the suggestion of the bird without the clarity of it. I'm not sure about the brightest blue band at the top, but when I crop it out it doesn't make the image stronger so I guess it belongs where it belongs.

The head angle, is of course, the big winner for this image! :D

PS My son thinks it is a bit 'trippy', whatever that means. But I think it is a yes!

[denise ippolito]

Artie, This is one of my favorite blurs. The zoom is placed nicely in the frame. I like the fact that the crane is recognizable. The layered colors in the background are lovely. I like the way the flowers look from the zoom effect. Fantastic.:)

[Harshad Barve]

Guruji , this is one the best zoom blur images I have seen in recent past and trust me I see LOT of images :)
TFS

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

The sense of leading lines from the zoom is amazingly strong, pulling you in to the center.
A sandhill was the perfect choice of subject because of its distinctive red crown allows it to be identified, even when quite blurred.

This is a real eye catcher. It encourages me to try non traditional images. Can't ask for much more than that.

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks guys and girls for your kind words. After reading that first comment I was actually considering giving up bird photography for good and getting a job in Burger King. (Having worked in Nathan's Famous in Coney Island I do have some experience in that field :))

[denise ippolito]

Artie, Just because one person doesn't like it doesn't mean it is not a good or even a great image. It simply means that it does not appeal to that person.

[Grace Scalzo]

Quite an interesting technique. My instincts would like the bird more toward the lower left hand corner with a more traditional rule of thirds comp. rather than centered horizontally. The colors are great and look like they explode outward. Thanks for sharing how you made this image, I'm going to try it. As far as the above critique by Kim goes, can we imagine what would be hanging in our museums if many of the artists of the past had been told to only let us view their "good ones".

[Kim Rollins]

Of course Art I "Do remember that good ones are in the eyes of the beholder." Yes so true and my opinion that I wrote was only my opinion. Of course I would expect others to have differing opinion. I wish you the best to you with your blurring endeavor.

[Michael Zajac]

Artie, I like the composition and the colors very much. I think that the technique is awesome. Thanks for sharing.:) Can't wait for the guide.

[Arthur Morris]

Well Art you said don't be shy and I am not so here it goes and I hope you don't take it personal but I am going to be a bit harsh here (hoping it might wake you up).

I am shocked :eek: I can not remember ever seeing an image of this quality from you before and really don't care to see another near this quality as I prefer to view your good ones. In my opinion the blur in the photograph is not pleasing, the blue strips of the back ground would be distractions in the image if there was anything to distract from but the blur has taken care of that.

In view of your second post on this image (in Pane #12), I offer the following.

#1: It was a bit presumptuous on your part to hope that your comments "might wake me up." It's not as if after 28 years of doing this that I would be quick to change my opinion of what is and what is not a good image based on your comments.

#2: In addition to doing honest critiques, we at BPN ask that critiques be done as gently as possible. Your critique was anything but gentle.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Artie, like it a lot. very interesting. dizzying, yes.....but awesome :-) unique way of using the zoom...thx for sharing...as u always do. really appreciated.

[James Shadle]

I must say I am a little bit confused about this project. There is a forum dedicated to this type of themes, Out Of The Box, in-camera or with the help of postprocessing techniques.

Peter,
There are thousands of people who visit our Avian Forum and neglect visiting our unique Out Of The Box Forum.
This topic is a great way to introduce those photographers to the "possibilities" and the OOTB forum.

As Artie said:
"Those of you who have enjoyed posting images to Fabs suggested project might love hanging out at the Out-of-the Box Forum where both in-camera and Photoshop creations are welcome.

As for the image, I love it.
Great leading lines, placement of the subject, and color makes this one of my favorites.

[Scott Grant]

I wasn't ready for this one! not something i normally like but i personally think this is a stunner!

the soft pastel colors are pleasing to the eye and the blur leasd my eye straight to the crane which is just sharp enough to make the image work.

I would hang it on my wall anytime. :)

all the best!

[Arthur Morris]

Quite an interesting technique. My instincts would like the bird more toward the lower left hand corner with a more traditional rule of thirds comp. rather than centered horizontally. The colors are great and look like they explode outward. Thanks for sharing how you made this image, I'm going to try it. As far as the above critique by Kim goes, can we imagine what would be hanging in our museums if many of the artists of the past had been told to only let us view their "good ones".

Thanks for your support Grace :) To quote George Lepp, "If both the upper and lower halves of an image are of equal drama (sic: in this case interest), it is OK to put the horizon line in the middle. That in effect is what I have done here. I did not want any more blue above and I did not want to lose any of the purple-streaked green below so I placed the bird just below the middle of the frame.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

I really enjoy seen this one sir!
It's almost like a rainbow! Fantastic composition, colors and technique.

PS, thank you for your flash lesson the other day.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks JC, Michael, Scott, James, Kaustubh, Denise, Randy, and Harshad-bhai for your kind and supportive words. And thanks to all for dropping by and commenting.

[Arthur Morris]

JC: YAW :)

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Artie,
To be honest this is not one of my favourites - zoom blurs make me dizzy :eek:
I'm really enjoying your Alaska blog and pictures - unfortunately I don't think that I will make it to Nickerson this summer :( very disappointing...
Thanks so much for your comment on my 'Got Sand?' post - was off-line for a few days and have only just found it :)
Best,
Nicki

[Arthur Morris]

YAW Nicki. I find that men are more likely to like blurs than woman. I am partial to them especially considering that Blizzard in Blue was my first and most highly honored BBC image :)

I am actually flying to Long Island on Friday to spend two afternoons and two mornings at Nickerson..... Then it is home and off to the Galapagos.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Cool image guru, nicely done..

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Will be thinking of you at Nickerson - great memories from last year :)
Am off to the Farne Islands tomorow for a couple of days - my first visit - very excited about it, should be puffins galore and tern chicks I hope...
Have a wonderful trip to the Galalpagos - hope your hip is better.
Best,
Nicki
BTW, I am generally a big fan of blurs - it just seems to be zoom blurs that give me motion sickness :eek:

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the good wishes. Have fun with the puffins. Heck, my late wife could not read in the car without getting sick. I can read for hours. Go figger.

[Fernando Diez]

Hello Artie, I like the picture has become. It gives a feeling of vertigo and I see a little psychedelic. I really like the techniques that seek to differentiate and is in particular it succeeds very well, with a very attractive. The lines are drawn by the zoom straight to the bird. I like this composition and I think we also remain good with the bird in the center of the photo.
Sorry for my english...
Fer