Your Favorite (of Three) & Why?

[Arthur Morris]

Each of these was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-1D MIV at LaJolla Shores Beach.

This one: ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1/3 stop: 1/800 sec. at f/8. Color temperature 8,000K. I used only +1/3 stop here in order to keep from burning the REDs on the RGB histogram. This is the best strategy when working with sweet sunset color.

Please let me know which of the three images you like best and why.

[Arthur Morris]

Everything the same except the size of the bird in the frame.

[Arthur Morris]

Same as above except 1/640 sec. at f/8, Color temperature 3200K.

[Joe Senzatimore]

I prefer the middle image as I like the size of the subject , the first is too big , IMO. What I really love is the sunset color. I think , for my taste , the first one is a bit too saturated.

[Fabs Forns]

Middle on for me. First one has too much backlit halo weird reflection and third one not enough colors. George is posted in Avian ID.

[Paul Kusmin]

Second one works for me Artie, first bird seems too cramped in comp and 3rd bird, while nice lacks the pop of the second one.

[Harold Davis]

i like the third one. just seems more peaceful to me. guessing it's a mood type thing.

[denise ippolito]

I like #2 also. But the colors in #3 appeal to me and so does the comp.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

#2 for me as well. Colors, comp, and elegant pose. #3 is attractive, but pose not as good for me.

Randy

[Alfred Forns]

I like the third one !!! Just love those cool tones, unusual seeing this type image cooled down !!!

[Steve Maxson]

No. 3 for me. I find the pose more interesting and I love those blues mixed with the more subtle yellow/orange tones.

[Phil Ertel]

Another vote for number three. The cool blues gives a completely different mode to this silhouette which I find very appealing.

[Marina Scarr]

I vote for #3 but would crop the line off the top.

It also appears as though #3 is the natural capture, whereas the others were most likely taken with the in camera K increased. In that case when I have two photographs that are both good, I'll usually gravitate toward the natural one.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

No. 2 is my favorite because of the wider crop and water colors.

[Stephen Stephen]

Artie I prefer 2 or 3 (Marina's crop). The bird in the third image seems more relaxed while it's alert in the first two.

I would also have liked to have seen another crop somewhere between 1 and 2 (more like #3).

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

#2 is the one that catches my attention the most. I believe it has to do with the wider crop and I guess that yields a more pleasing composition, just my two cents.

[Joe Brown]

I prefer #3 for the composition and the colours. If you take the bird and it's reflection as a single object, in my mind, they are placed perfectly in the shot. In the other two shots the placing of the bird and the reflection does not work. I find the complimentary colours more attractive as well.

Joe

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the last one since it is the natural colors I see on California coast.

[Dave Leroy]

I prefer the third. I like the position of the bird in the frame the most as well as the light. The cool light seems to me more like a late evening and very relaxing time of day. Dave

[David Billingsley]

I prefer #3 because of the colors in the water and peaceful feeling the picture generates for me.

[Callie de Wet]

Number three, for the colour and the size in the frame. This one stands out from the other two on visual impact and balance although the natural tendency I have is towards warmer colours.

[Mike Milicia]

Great job controlling the reds in 1 and 2 ... color is gorgeous!

I find 1 too tight in the frame.
I like 2 better but I think I'd like to see the bird a bit higher in the frame.
As great as the color is in 1 and 2, I find myself liking the cooler colors in 3 even better.
As others have said, more soothing and also something different.
However, I prefer the pose/silhouette shape in 1 and 2 and I'd also like the bird a bit higher in the frame in 3 as well.

So I guess my ideal would be colors from #3 with silhouette of 1/2 and bird a bit higher.

[Harshad Barve]

Third one for its natural colors
TFS

[Justin Reznick]

#2 for me. More room for the bird than #1 providing a better comp and the colors pop more for me than #3.

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Artie. I prefer no 2. I like comp with the extra space in 2 more than in no 1. I also think the angle of the no 2 shot is better than in no 3 and I prefer the warm colours.

[Ken Watkins]

Third one for its natural colors
TFS

I agree with this and the fact that it is different.

[Bob Pelkey]

The first shot is my favorite. I don't object to the subject and its reflection filling the frame. The second image appears to show a dust spot behind the nape of the bird (removed from #1 and #3)?

[john jackson]

The third, because one and two look over the top from where I'm sitting (temperature and saturation). I suspect somewhere in the middle temperature wise might suit my taste. I would turn down the saturation on all of them.

[Myer Bornstein]

I will be different I like number one because of the color saturation More sunsetish for me.

[Ilija Dukovski]

both #2 and #3 as two quite different images and moods, with #2 being stronger overall.
I'm against tighter crops in either. I think the bird and the reflection should be considered
as a single subject and placed in the frame accordingly.

[Michael Wolf]

I find # 1 too tight in the frame.
I do like # 3 but with Marina's crop.

My fave is #2 but again with Stephen's crop.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Artie, third one for me....although all are very good. The alternating color bands make it different.

[Stuart Bowie]

Without having read any of the above comments, Im going with the middle one. Why - I like the more space around the bird, and I prefer the firey colours than your third post.

[Jim Neiger]

#1 because of the angle of the bird, the water, and the colors. I would get rid of the bright line above the bird's bill though.

[Julian Hough]

Artie,

If we ignore small issues in processing, dust-spots, halos or whatever and just judge on the merits of color and composition, I like image#1 since the bird and it's reflection is the focus and seems balanced enough in the frame.

I find Image#2 to have a little too much background and the subject seems to be dominated by the extra space around it.

Image #3 I also like for different reasons - it's so different from the first two that I find it hard to directly compare them. For me, this image's attractiveness is due to the background, not the bird. The soft banding of the blues and orange make a pleasing visual balance with the darker banding of the bird's reflection. It exudes a quite stillness, more appealing in some ways than the first two.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Artie although I usually like warmer colours I am finding the third one to be breath-takingly beuatiful due to the tones and lines and soft mood.

[Fernando Cerra]

Artie, I like #2 and #3 if I am forced to choose one right now I will say #2 but I´m sure that if you ask me tomorrow I might say #3 because that will depend which mood I am at the moment.

[Peter Kes]

I vote for number 3. The soft color interaction between the skyblue and orange with the dark bird works best for me.
I also like the relaxed pose of the bird best of the three.

NB the second image has some funny spots, see attached.

[Don Railton]

In order of preference its 3, 2 and 1 for me, but only by a small margin. Number 3 seems more natural with its colours to me, I guess I associate sea birds with blue... Number 1 seems to have lost some of its context for me as its largely a silhouette without detail..

DON

[Jim Fenton]

# 3 by far.

The first 2 are simply too typical relative to the 3200k presentation IMHO.

[Jay Gould]

Most interesting!

Having read the various comments and then going back to the images, I go with #1.

While you suggest that they are the same images,

"everything the same"

"same as above"

the images are quite different.

Looking at them in reverse order, #3 is more compact than either #1 or #2. Almost a hunched-over position more consistent with the cooler background. The tail is down and you do not see feather detail around the body.

While I still vote for #1, one thing that bothers me with #1 and #2 is that the refelction seems to have a straight edge on the left side; not as present with #3.

Agree with Jim regarding the shine on the top of the bill.

[Arthur Morris]

Jay, "Everything the same" obviously referred to the gear and the exposure data....

[Jay Gould]

Oops - wasn't "obvious" to me!

Still vote for #1.

[Arthur Morris]

Not only was it plainly obvious but the implication that I thought or implied that the three images were "the same" is quite strange at best.

[Blake Shadle]

I really like #3. #1 would be my second vote. I tend to lean toward a more open composition. I think the composition in #3 is very strong. You don't always have to "break the rules" to make a stunning image. I've seen many orange silhouettes, but the composition, coloring and diagonal lines in #3 win it for me.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all for playing and for you comments. I prefer #s 2 and 3 to #1 but like them all. Peter, thanks a ton for your good eyes. You missed one big one in #1 in the urc.

[Arthur Morris]

I vote for #3 but would crop the line off the top. It also appears as though #3 is the natural capture, whereas the others were most likely taken with the in camera K increased. In that case when I have two photographs that are both good, I'll usually gravitate toward the natural one.

Thanks to all the crop suggesters; there are surely lots of acceptable crops for #3 and #2. #3 is actually cooler than what it looked like (due to the 3200 K that I set). And #s 1 and 2 were created when the water was much more orange with the sun just above the horizon. I believe that #3 was created when the sun was almost completely down.

[Kris Mortensen]

For me, I like #1 the best...it feels more intimate...like I was enjoying the sunset with a friends! All are good though!