This shot was taken at my new favourite puddle. The apparent "red sunset" behind the birds head is actually the reflection of the tail light of a silver Toyota Corolla.
I'm unsure about whether the FG works or not. A lower angle would have meant the reflection was lost:(
No photoshop done apart from what is mentioned below, thought it might make for a unique photo, tell me what you think.:)
All comments, etc welcome as always, Paul :cool:
Canon 5D 600mm f4 L (non IS) iso 640 1/800th f 6.3 CW metering - 1 1/3 tripod mounted
Photoshop- slight sharpen of birds face, blur tool used on FG for NR, fixed a few errant feathers on the birds brow
Last edited by Paul Randall; 09-27-2010 at 06:19 AM.
The bird himself looks good with detail in the blacks and the whites. I like the speical effect of the light behind the head resembling a sunset. I would take some off the bottom as the oof material does not add anything to the picture
Interesting creation. I would def. remove 2/3 to 3/4 of the foreground, as Scott stated, it doesn't add to the picture.
Can't quite decide about the taillight sunset.
I might try to soften the edges of the red a bit, just to smooth it out a little.
My two cents is the taillight sunset detracts from an otherwise excellent image. To my eye, there's not enough spill around the circle of light to be a real sunset and it looks like what it is; artificial. The taillight did you a favor with the red highlights in the rippleas around the bird's feet. Getting lower and eliminating the red halo would have kept the conflicting interest down as well. Agree about the OOF dirt in front. All that said, some of my comments could be envy; wish I'd have had your dilemna and your skill at making this image. Overall well done.
While I like the red ripples, I find the tail light distracting. I keep looking at the red circle behind the bird & I have to force my eye to look at the bird. I also agree with cropping the FG. I think the magpie lark is well exposed with detail in both the whites & blacks. I also like that the left leg is showing motion. It is a good idea.
Thanks for the comments all:D While the tail light "sunset" may be a little distracting because of the defined edges, I like that it has that artificial look. I was in no way trying to recreate an actual sunset look, just thought it might make for an interesting image.
Agree about the FG too, thanks for the feedback, here is a slight recrop;)
Magpie Lark and "improvised" sunset
Reply With Quote
