The Big Blue

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Everyone,
You see, the sea can be this colour in England too!! :D
Taken on the Farne Islands on a lovely sunny afternoon, full frame, and yes, I deliberately placed the bird as is...;)
1D 3 300 f/2.8
ISO 100
1/3200
Exp comp @ zero
HH Minimal PP
Look forward to your C & C's.
Best regards to all,
Nicki

[Scott Frye]

White against the blue sky with the darker blue at the bottom makes for a very pleasing picture. I would like to see more room in front of the bird than behind it

[Arthur Morris]

Do I see some themes here??? I think that you are just a slow panner like the rest of us :) Love the color of the water but it does not look like lovely sun... It looks a lot softer than a clear afternoon. That said, the bird might be too BLUE/CYAN.... As before, unless there is a reason that is somewhat evident for placing the bird forward in the frame rather placing it back in the frame it does not make sense to me....

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Scott and Artie, thanks so much for your comments.
Moi? a slow panner??? :D
Although the light was clear it was not too bright. This is not Florida summer sun that we are talking about here ;) And as for ther positioning of the bird, I guess that we'll just have to agree to differ - I feel that it tells a different sory, but would be the first to admit that this is not everyone's preference. You might be right about the blue/cyan - I wasn't sure...

[Austin Thomas]

Hi Nicki, The BKGR colouring is very nice and being graduated adds to the interest. I would prefer to see more space in front of the bird than behind the bird personally speaking.

tfs

Austin

[Joe Senzatimore]

I too vote for more room in front. Not sure just what this placement conveys.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Austin and Joe, thanks so much for your comments.

I was hoping that this presentation might encourage the viewer to question conventional wisdom but I guess not...IMHO there's always more than one way to interpret something. Is this not the whole point of education?
Why does every thing have to be done by the book?? :confused:

[Arthur Morris]

#1: you are the artist. You can put the bird anywhere you want in the frame. Always. #2: when placing the bird forward in the frame, it works best of me --as I have said before--if you have a concrete reason for doing so. Wanting to be different for the sake of being different or just for the sake of breaking the rules is not a concrete reason, at least for me (and obviously for others here) :)

To further my point, if you suddenly decided that the rule of thirds was bunk and began placing all of your small in the frame subjects smack in the middle of the frame without reason, folks would pretty much take you to task. The "rules," which of course only guidelines, have been used by artists for centuries with great success. If you want to break them, you need to have a reason that folks can understand and relate to.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Artie, I agree that to break the rules just for the sake of it is pointless.
I try to steer clear of giving reasons for my choices as I like the viewer to interpret how he/she will. Interestingly enough, having shown this picture to a number of friends and family members, several of whom are photographers, but not BIRD photographers, not one of them has raised the issue of the bird being in the 'wrong place'. All of them, without exception, have loved this image, and believe me they would tell me if they didn't...
For me the most exciting images are the ones that raise questions and have added tension - in other words, that tell a story. Where is the bird going next? Why the 'knowing look ' to the photographer? Arctic terns are amongst the most maritime of the species, and I feel that expanse of sea behind the bird symbolizes the vastness already travelled and the beginning of a new jouney. Only he knows where he is going next - or does he? This is where the magic and the mystery are - and this is partly why I take pictures of these birds, because my words could never hope to convey that magic.

[Arthur Morris]

Understood and respected. My point still remains is that if your reasons for putting the bird where you did ("Arctic terns are amongst the most maritime of the species, and I feel that expanse of sea behind the bird symbolizes the vastness already travelled and the beginning of a new journey. Only he knows where he is going next - or does he? This is where the magic and the mystery are") are not evident to the viewer then the viewers will feel confused. That is why folks are questioning your choice(s). :)

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

I understand about the reasons for the viewer being confused! BUT, why is it that non bird photographers are loving this image whilst bird photographers are confused? Could it be something to do with perceived and conventional wisdom in a particular field of photography? With the greatest of respect to everyone who posts here, I do sometimes feel that preconceived ideas prevail - when I show my work to a wider audience, for example at a gallery, I get very different reactions. I suppose what I am trying to say is that we all see and are looking for something different. :) (Or maybe I should just stick to OOTB in future). :D
Hope that some other folks might chip in with comments about this discussion - it is interesting :cool:

[Arthur Morris]

Here is a story that may or may not be relevant.... Many years ago I did a program at the Festival of the Cranes for a general audience. After the program about a dozen folks came up to me and said, "Great stuff. Wonderful images." The next day some tour company guy did a program. The images were all out of focus and featured weird colors and birds with cut off heads. Most were very bad dupes of dupes, borrowed images. The guy was a friend. As I stood by him I watched about a dozen folks come up to him. All said the same thing: "Great stuff. Wonderful images."

In the same vein, why do photo editors choose out of focus poorly composed images with bad head angles?

My answer to all of the above questions is that I have no clue :)

[Harshad Barve]

Hmmmmm, Some serious talks here , One food for thoughts thread for sure, I am here with Guruji Nicki , love the sky color and wing pose , HA is not bad either , I will crop some thing like this , hope you don't mind

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Artie, I know of what you speak :(, but I am usually able to engage with the people who view my images, either at a gallery, or with a group of fellow photographers, and therefore can find out what it was that did or did not appeal. I like to think that these people can tell the difference between good images and the other ones that you describe - however, there is no accounting for some people...
Harshadbhai (if I may call you this) :) thank you for your very kind comments and for taking the trouble to work on my image. Your crop would also work well, but part of the reason for my decision to leave the bird small in the frame was to give a sense of the majesty of its surroundings, and also its vulnerability...(plus the fact that I really love that blue!!)

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Nicki,

Interesting presentation and I applaud you for exploring alternative compositions. In my opinion this would work if the empty space was to include text such as a poem. As presented (again just my opinion) it feels off balanced and gives me a feeling of confusion rather than being thought provoking. I find the discussion interesting and hopes it helps me contemplate alternative compositions. Thanks for sharing.

[Harshad Barve]

Harshadbhai (if I may call you this) :)

Of course

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Phil, thanks so much for your constructive comments. I think that a peom would work well - actually, I am about to begin such a venture with a friend who would like to try her hand at Haiku - her words, my images. :cool:
I do think that sometimes story-telling images can appear out of context on their own. For a gallery showing I tend to work in groups of three images within one frame to tell a story, and I do add captions. I also like to show in groups of four with a connecting theme or storyline.
Thank you Harshadbhai :)