We had a rare overcast afternoon here in the desert last weekend, so I went out and photographed this Cactus Wren on a Saguaro. I composed with room in front of the bird in an effort to convey the space that the bird lives in, and was singing into, from atop the cactus. I know the head angle is turned away from me a little, but it gives me the sense that I am viewing the bird in his world and looking into the same space that he is.
All comments appreciated (especially those dealing with color since I am colorblind). Thanks!
Specs are:
Canon 1D Mark III
Canon EF 600mm f/4 IS + 1.4x Extender
f8, 1/125s, ISO 400
The colors are just a bit cool, as I would expect in an overcast situation.
the back lighting has made some of the cactus spines pretty bright (at top left of cactus), and I might try a version with the luminosity toned down just a bit. It is very nice on the right side.
I am OK with the head angle for the reasons you stated. I do wonder if the story of the bird in the environment/surveying his world, wouldn't be stronger if in this case you could see a bit more detail in the BG? I know you were at f/8, and perhaps there is no way to show much more detail, because of the distance to the BG, but from a pure story telling standpoint, I do think it would be more effective with more detail back there.
I know, we always love the smooth backgrounds on this site, me included, but since you are trying to tell about his world, not making a portrait, more detail would be a plus, IMHO.
PS: The size of your signature is a bit distracting.
I would have to agree with Randy that without BG detail, conveying the message you state in the description is not happening. However, I think you created a wonderful portrait of this bird and would suggest, to strengthen the image, a vertical crop with the bird in a Rule of Thirds power point position either on the left or right positions. This can allow more or less prominence to the cactus' presence in the image.
Thanks for your very helpful input and compliments. I guess I have a better portrait than full story! The background was far enough away that it was softened that much. I really like the pattern of color. I have adjusted the color a bit so it is hopefully a bit warmer (i'm red-green colorblind, so the subtle changes are difficult, of course). I ran a linear burn on the needles - how do they look now? The original horizontal version has these changes, but I'm posting the vertical crop to see what you guys really like better.
State Bird of Arizona
Reply With Quote
