Originally Posted by
Brian Sump
Jonathan, there can be so many points of debate in this forum. That said, to me, this shot is superb as I stated to Will. Please don't misconstrue any of my words suggesting it's not incredible but one will often read folks saying things like, "the only way you could improve it" or "only suggestion is..." and hopefully it's done respectfully and tactfully. That's what this platform is for, no?
But what can separate a fantastic shot from an all-world shot is, among other things, small parts of the frame such as shadows. There's not anything 'wrong' with a wing shadow per se, however imagine the same frame with more of that wing well lit. Would you agree it might likely improve it?
I have super high standards for myself, more and more with time. And there are several frames that didn't make it here from me because of less than ideal shadows. Then there are ones like the Goldeneyes that I worked very hard on to achieve as close to a perfect angle with no shadow as possible. While there will certainly be many to come on my end that are posted with slight shadows, there's an intrinsic goal to minimize them. It doesn't bother me a bit if anyone posts with wing shadows. However, someone, somewhere will capture the same or similar with subtle improvements. Heck, maybe Will chooses to go back out and try again. Elite photographers get shots that the less-than-elite don't. I'd certainly put Will up there with the elite, shadow or not.