Roadrunner Albatross?

[Arthur Morris]

This Laysan Albatross was photographed on my last morning on Midway. The image was created with the Canon 70-200mmm f/2.8L IS II lens (hand held at 185mm) and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/1000 sec. at f/2.8 set manually.

Don't be shy all comments welcome.

For more on Midway, click here and scroll down.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

Great title for this one. Love the kicked up sand, angle in frame, exposure.

I might be tempted to remove some or all of the OOF foliage RLC. The stuff along the bottom middle is OK for me.

I think the OOF stuff acts as a visual stop, which reduces the implied motion in the frame.
Part of its impact is because of the contrast against the white sand.

Glad you made it back safely.

Cheers

[Troy Lim]

Artie:

Great title for this one. Love the kicked up sand, angle in frame, exposure.

I might be tempted to remove some or all of the OOF foliage RLC. The stuff along the bottom middle is OK for me.

I think the OOF stuff acts as a visual stop, which reduces the implied motion in the frame.
Part of its impact is because of the contrast against the white sand.

Glad you made it back safely.

Cheers

I feel the same. I like the action, I would clone out the FG.

[Marina Scarr]

It seems that so far, I am going to be the odd "man" out here. You know how I feel about the inclusion of environment. Having the green in both the back and the front, helps to balance out the capture and gives a more accurate depiction of the scene. I love the story this one tells.

[Arthur Morris]

I have strong feeling on the o-o-f vegetation on the lower right but withhold judgement for a while to give others a chance to chime in :)

[Grace Scalzo]

I would not dream of eliminating anything from this image. Love it as is. The environmental stuff doesn't interfere with the bird's take off at all and to me it acts as a natural frame.

[Stan Cunningham]

Gotta concur with Marina, the biologist in me wants to see everything about the bird and it's habitat. To me if you remove the veg which would probably be easy with content aware, it would look more "staged".

[Jeff Dyck]

I love the look of this shot Artie - I think it's the exaggerated cartoon-ish look of the movement . I'm totally OK with the vegetation in the lower right - I think it nicely "bookends" the vegetation on the left and that without it the photograph would look unbalanced.

[Dawn Miller]

I am especially pleased with the way all of the OOF surroundings, front and back, frame the bird, implying that he is absolutely exerting himself and moving. At the same time, he is completely in focus - effectively frozen. I feel he's a metaphor for the experience of effort, even frustration. He is so full of energy!

[Randy Stout]

I certainly agree that the vegetation on the right lower helps balance the mass on the left, but I would still remove the leaf closest to him. Visually he needs some room,since the story here is the roadrunner pose and implied action.

Cheers

Randy

[Layton E Parham]

I would leave the three clumps of vegetation in the front, and remove the larger bunch on the right. The bird needs something in the frame to jump over. I think there should be clear space to fly into.

[Duane Noblick]

I like habitat in images...gives the viewer a sense of where the subject lives and it's environment but for me the oof vegitation interrupts the 'flow' of what I'm seeing...a bird taking flight from the ground.

[Mike Tracy]

I really like the colors of the bill and position of the feet.

I usually try to incorporate elements of the subjects habitat into my images so I am fine with this as is but the foreground foliage does seem a little dominating. Maybe reducing the sat. of the orangeish one would be a option.

I think I also recall you once said that oof stuff in the foreground rarely adds to an image or something along those lines.

[Andrew McLachlan]

I kinda like the oof vegetation in this comp with the exception of the 3 smaller pieces. I would evict them - the large clump seems to complete a nice diagonal line of the elements in the photo and draws the viewers attention straight to the Albatross. Very nice capture!

[Craig Brelsford]

I note the implication in many posts that there's one best way to deal with the OOF vegetation. The fact is, one can have both a shot with the veggies in and one with the veggies out; but each choice creates an image with a different character. Leave the green in, and you have the disadvantage of, as Randy noted, the OOF stuff acting as a visual stop. But you have the advantage of a "warts and all" natural-history image, with its authentic feel. Take the OOF stuff out, and the eye will appreciate the uncluttered space, and the story of the movement of the albatross may be more succinctly communicated; but on the downside you end up with a more idealized image, with less of that blue-jeans feel.

[Ofer Levy]

Lovely action and techs look good to me. Love the warm soft light.
I totally agree with removing the oof vegetation on the right as for me it kills the image. It is not only distracting and takes my eyes away from the bird, it also "blocks" the beautiful take off action.
Here is a repost in which I also cropped off the top to balance the composition.

[Tom Rambaut]

Like it as first presented.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Man I gotta admit I liked the OOF stuff, but when I saw Ofer's repost I was impressed as it looks great with those removed - plus the bit of habitat remaining in ULC corner is enough to give a sense of place. They both have their merits, but I'm leaning on the repost...

In both images the Albatross' pose is over the top!! Highly entertaining image...

[Troy Lim]

Man I gotta admit I liked the OOF stuff, but when I saw Ofer's repost I was impressed as it looks great with those removed - plus the bit of habitat remaining in ULC corner is enough to give a sense of place. They both have their merits, but I'm leaning on the repost...

In both images the Albatross' pose is over the top!! Highly entertaining image...

I like Ofer's repost too. Agree the pose is over the top!

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for commenting and great job on reconstructing the sand naturally in the repost by Ofer.

I absolutely love the image as presented and would not think of eliminating a single leaf from the right foreground vegetation:) With that vegetation cartoonishly oot-of-focus it is clear to me at least that the bird is not going to run into it and thus to my eye it is not a stopper. And it balances the composition perfectly as is.

The shrub is actually a native plant, Naupaka. It grows naturally in the dunes where the albatross have created walkways that head down to the beach and become runways. So yes, it does add to the environmental feel of the image. (Craig, in no way do I see the vegetation in this image as "warts." :))

I am glad that at least a few folks (Marina, Grace, Jeff, and Dawn) see it the way I do but I appreciate all who stopped by to share their thoughts.

[Arthur Morris]

I think I also recall you once said that oof stuff in the foreground rarely adds to an image or something along those lines.

In general o-o-f elements that protrude in front of the subject are image wreckers. That is not the case here as there is nothing "protruding" and the o-o-f vegetation acts as a frame. Whatever the case the rules are always only guidelines. When something works it works....

[Arthur Morris]

Another thought on Ofer's repost; it definitely needs a chunk off the bottom

[Ofer Levy]

Another thought on Ofer's repost; it definitely needs a chunk off the bottom

No it doesn't - composition is just right....

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Ofer, Did you sneak in a cropped repost on me or am I nuts? :2

[Ofer Levy]

Hey Ofer, Did you sneak in a cropped repost on me or am I nuts? :2

I am afraid you are loosing it Artie....

[Mike Tracy]

In general o-o-f elements that protrude in front of the subject are image wreckers. That is not the case here as there is nothing "protruding" and the o-o-f vegetation acts as a frame. Whatever the case the rules are always only guidelines. When something works it works....

Thanks for taking your time to explain your thought process.

Any more " roadrunner" shots ? He's cool !

[Steven Kersting]

Made me smile!
Love the action. I would not remove everything from the rt front, but I would remove almost everything that is extending above the dune the bird is running on. Because of it's position and size, I feel it outweighs the background foliage and has almost equal weight with the bird as presented.



I took very little care in the editing, it's just an example of what I'm thinking. I might also consider repositioning some of the leaves from the original a bit lower to fill in. (I composited the two previous versions and tweaked)

[Arthur Morris]

I am afraid you are loosing it Artie....

That would be "losing" it... Fully understandable as I am jet-lagged. Don't forget to get two feet lower the next time you are in the lake!

[Ofer Levy]

That would be "losing" it... Fully understandable as I am jet-lagged. Don't forget to get two feet lower the next time you are in the lake!

Thanks for the correction...
I am afraid you will have to enjoy my presence for many years to come - no intention to go underwater anytime soon....

[Desmond Chan]

I think a lot of the "issues" mentioned so far could be solved if this were taken from a higher perspective using a shorter focal length (meaning it had to be taken closer to the subject I know ) If only one could happen, then I'd choose shooting from a higher perspective. If neither could happen, then I would blur the foreground veggies more or cloned out some of them as Steven did in pp.

[Arthur Morris]

Desmond, I have no issues at all with the original image. And getting higher with a shorter lens would not at all have produced an image that made me happy.