howdy Bev, thanks for test the site – I think it is interesting that in the wild these birds will stack up like a totem pole to allow the one on top to have a better view – which makes it easier to find prey.
Like the use of lines in this image – both the straight lines formed by the piers, and the curved lines of the cloud and the ferrous wheel – also like the ship in the distance. Really nice tonal range. The water mark has someone else’s name – or is that your new photo id?
I would of liked being at this spot! – water looks nice and white, without any blown out spots – great job on the exposure! You may want to try a few extreme crops into the water fall, I think you may have some nice pictures within the picture.
personally I think you may want to see if you can pull out more of the details in the shadows, also if the light house was running – getting a shot with it’s light showing would be a nice addition – good for you for getting out and going for it!
I can feel the cold in this scene – wondering what it was you wanted to show with this shot? Did you try a range of shutter speeds to see how it affected the way the water looked? If not you may want to give it a try sometime. I am really glad to see someone using this new feature, hopefully with time others will also join in.
I like seeing more details in the shadows in this one – of course it depends on your intention. I also appreciate the golden light coming between the rocks, it makes me wonder what is back there. Glad to see you using the discussion feature.
While the other bird is hell bent on causing trouble it is quite an arresting photo but, I actually like this one better. The background does not compete with the subject. There is something about the large eyes that make him seem “sweet.”
Blanche I appreciate your comment – and I see what you are saying, this one is more artistic, while the other one captures the intensity of a raptor on the hunt
To my eye – this is a little to o busy – the fellow riding the horse, and the church distract me from the Mermaid – you may want to try to mask out everything but the Mermaid and insert a less distracting background. (just my opinion – as with all feed back take what you find useful, ignore the rest!)
Well Blanche – it looks like we are pretty much the only ones using this new feature – oh well! WRT the image an interesting pose, nice timing on your part! Personally I think the blown highlights are distracting ( as did you as I can see you tried to tone them down ). Animal photos are challenging as you pretty much are forced to go with the moment – this type of shooting makes it hard to keep track of the background. Someone once told me the background is as important as the subject, but it is hard to remember this in the ‘heat of the moment. Keep shooting!
I really like the lines in this shot – and your timing with the wave hitting was excellent. If you don’t mind sharing – where exactly was this? It looks like a wonderful view point. Just wondering – did you try some with really slow shutter speeds? I sometimes the resulting milky water can be interesting. Please keep submitting! Are those sea lions on the rocks?
Thank you for sharing the fact that you used the Orton effect. I am guessing that you masked the bird and did not apply the effect to his eye or beak. Sharing info like this helps us all learn and improve our photos.
I think it is great too. It looks like they are dancing and enjoying it. That little bit of reflection in the water is very interesting. Do you have any other shots that captured more of that abstract reflection?
I first noticed how well you captured the bird. It took a minute to see the dragonfly, but that really made the image great. Then I read the title. Right on!
What a fantastic picture John! I love it. The lighting is wonderful. The light that illuminates his throat and teeth just makes the picture. I also appreciate all of the texture in his skin. Since his teeth look so white and clean I am thinking that a dentist could use this photo for advertisement.
you did a great job under tough lighting conditions – and lets face it anytime you can show a predator”s teeth adds a lot of drama to a shot – wonderful capture!
while I like the ‘boka’ a small aperture creates – I think you may have limited to focus plane to where it was hard to get the eye in focus – also for birds with mostly dark tones, but with some white it is very hard to not blow out the whites – suggest you try this one again with a fstop in the f 8 range, and adjust your exposure to -.7 – 1, keep it up, you have a nack for bird shots!
better than any shot I have been able to get of these birds – you can even see the serrations on the bill – what glass where you using? and where was this?
Maybe try a pano crop, taking off the top just below the white dots. Then, if possible, apply a gradient color change from right to left to change that grey to green/yellow (I don’t have the skill for that)
The blue feathers are great. Looks like the focus is sharp on the moss and the closest part of the body. However, the head and eye are a little soft. The background softness is great, but maybe darken the lightest area behind the birds head to the right of the tree trunk.
I like everything about this, even the water drops falling off its feet. The color is wonderful.
Did you try darkening the top third of the background to see if it lessened its competition with the goose, yet still held its beautiful color?
I think John makes a good point – to my eye the white blobs are a distraction to a really nice shot of a ring neck duck – love the iridescent colors on the head – great job on not blowing out the highlights – something I often do 😉
Excellent focus and great lighting. If that was cropped in, I think I may have left the foot in there, but with that said, this is an absolute clear shot of a gorgeous bird.
It was late in the day and I got that low light hitting the duck. I was really just trying out my new lens and did not intend to make a good photo so, I was not paying attention to the foot. I would have left it in too if I had been paying attention. Thanks Joe.
very nice shot – good job on not blowing out the highlights, nice sharp eye, and good wing position, – you may want to see if you can pump-up the shadows some to show more detail in the wings, glad you are getting out!
good for you! – these are a very challenging bird, is there anyway you can bring up the light in the eye, as is it looks pretty dark, thanks for sharing
Nice job at getting in close. I always try to get too much in and end up with a very busy image that doesn’t really show off the flower. You did it well, and with a clean dark background.
Try two different crops to see if you like either better. 1) crop down from the top until the sliver of blue sky on the left is gone (to the top of the roof). 2) crop down from the top all the way to between the two dark windows (a square crop). I think both work depending on how you want to present the image. I ignore the aspect ratio and just look at the content.
I like the scene. The light add people in the ally really adds to the mood.
Oh, another idea for the crop that you have is to just darken the sky quite a lot. Use a color-select mask or a luminance mask.
Did you recently switch to Sony?
I like how you handled the dynamic range to hold detail in the highlights and shadows in such harsh light. It looks great.
I dropped my camera into the Deschutes a few weeks ago. It is at the Nikon Dr. now. When I decided to go to the coast my husband encouraged me to take his camera and I was reluctant because I did not “know” his camera and thought that if I couldn’t be trusted to keep my camera out of the water that I had no business taking his to the ocean. In the end, I decided to give it a try. As the days passed I became more comfortable with it and now I like both cameras. We are lucky to have such nice cameras and I think that a good camera is something for which to be grateful.
Thank you, John. The top of building crop works well. I don’t hesitate to change photo proportions to suit its appearance or use. The blue patch resulted from recent use of DxO Viewpoint to correct wide angle lens distortion caused by inability to back up far enough. The camera is water resistant, the photog is not.
The viewer’s eye is directed into the picture to the rock that intrigues us because it seems so “other worldly.” Very interesting. Thanks for posting so we can study it.
That’s an awesome story and a pretty good image! Haha… An outstanding image. I would like to hear more of the story some time. And, I’ve already started to lighten my gear.
I really like this image! I love all things boats and water, so the combo is a great thing. Great colour contrast.
Suggestion, if I may….is it possible to lower the highlights/glare from the left side of the boats where the sun is hitting? Not sure if it would help or is necessary, just a thought.
I can really feel the power of the sea. Great job conveying the energy of scene. Nice grounding of the pic with the rocks showing at the bottom edge. Beautiful colouring, of sky, as well!
Very nice, Blanche. Congratulations, and good for you for taking a Thanksgiving trip to Yosemite. Cold?
If this were my picture, I might try….(a) darkening the brightest highlights on the El Cap (like by using a brightness/contrast adjustment on a “lights 3” luminosity mask) and (b) darkening the trees in front of El Cap and their reflection (or lightening everything else in the image) to better make them stand out as the “hero” in this picture. I count at least 5 “leading lines” going towards the trees; I might try to accentuate those lines without it looking too obvious.
Thanks John. I am reminded of an internet post by a young woman who said that the only time to take a picture of Delicate Arch in Arches National park is the late afternoon or evening because it would be back lit in the morning. It seems like she is missing an opportunity to take a photo exposed for the arch and another for the sky and then blend the two. Perhaps more than two photos would need to be blended. One thing that I am learning is that the air movement around the rushing water of a waterfall always causes the foliage in the area to move and if you take a photo at a fast shutter speed to stop the foliage action you will most likely have water movement that is too fast for your liking. I look forward to taking this photo again. I think that I understand enough to do a better job in the area of that pesky brush movement in the upper right hand corner next time. My husband listened to some u tube advice from a photographer who said to plan your shot, get your composition right, set your camera for the conditions and then take the photo. While we were in Yosemite with very limited time we were rushing from one spot to another trying to capture as much as we could before the light was too harsh. My husband said, “I say the best way to get a good shot is to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, look at the photos on the computer when you get home, see how you could have done better and then go back and do it again.” Since I love to travel I think that may not be bad advice.
Blanche, This is really fantastic. I would suggest trying a version with the top third (the forest) darkened quite a lot, then bring back some of the brightness in the center background above the creek. Sort of like a tunnel of light. That would help the beautiful green moss that lines the creek stand out and glow more. Selectively brightening the mossy leaning branches would be cool too.
I love the color palette of this image – lovely, happy yellows and greens. Very nice use of shallow depth of field to focus attention on the finch and flower. I might have cropped a bit off the bottom and used a radial filter in lightroom to darken the edges so further focus attention on the finch and flower. I wonder if using a brush to selectively add clarity and or texture to the body of the bird might make him ‘pop’ even more. Nice shot.
That was the best lecture on photographic creativity that I have ever heard. I will try to watch it again and look into Guy’s other resources. Thank you very much.
John
Nice. I really like the natural background.
The rabbit population has exploded in my back yard and they are really making a mess of my once nice lawn. They are so cute, but I wish they would just pass through.
We have also had a lot more rabbits this year. I am photographing and trying to make the best of the situation. I can’t tell you how much I liked your last photo submittal. The one of Crooked river from atop Smith rock.
The interesting story behind this shot is that this doe gave birth to one baby somewhere around the pond in our back yard. She must have lost track of the baby very early because it was seen on our neighbors patio barely able to stand. She kept coming through our yard and seemed to be looking for it. They may not have connected because he is seen alone in areas like under our tree. I took this photo one morning when she appeared to be looking for the baby.
I like the colors and how the house stands out boldly from the background. There is a little sense of wonderment because the bottom of the porch is hidden. And great that you captured the flag straight out. That little detail adds a lot to the picture.
shot at 1/2000 – but if you want the wing tips sharp you will need much faster, personally I like the blur at the tips – the key is to watch where they hover and get the shot in that moment
Sorry you didn’t get any this year but I know you love going. We do too. My husband can’t hike much but he is pretty good at getting the car to places where it is likely that we may encounter these wild animals………….a long lens helps also. I got a new 150 -600mm Sigma this year. It has that 600mm reach and can be adjusted down to fill the frame if the animal is closer so cropping isn’t necessary as much. This elk and others were just beside the road between Mammath and the La mar valley. Sheer luck.
Good colors and reflection. Yellowstone abounds with picture opportunities. It is hard to get one that can convey the sense of the special awesomeness of the place. Good job.
What a great set of images, along with wonderful commentary by Rob! So wish I could have made it to the meeting to enjoy these in person, and have a little respite from the snow and cold outside. A big “well done!” to all who submitted photos to this theme night!
This is great! I love the juxtaposition of the precise horizontal and vertical lines between blocks and the organic shapes of the vine and, especially, its shadow. Good for you, Todd, in seeing this within the confines of the exercise.
Todd, you have such a good eye. I like that you took this shot from directly overhead. That makes it a bit more abstract and strictly about the interesting shapes. The black and white treatment enhances this.
This was a result of ‘working the subject.’ I wanted the moon next to the head in some way, and I took a number of shots with the moon below the chin and then right in front of the eyes. (Both were boring.) Eventually, I realized that there was a parking space for the moon right behind the neck. (I confess that I cheated on our exercise because my desire to get this right made me ignore my timer. Sorry.)
Great shot! That is one scruffy eagle – not something you see in all those “hero” shots.
Nice photo. But this is one sad, shackled eagle.
Dan, I really like the “off center” composition and feel.
hopefully others will test this out – thanks for doing so!
Dan, I like the graphics of this image. Bev
howdy Bev, thanks for test the site – I think it is interesting that in the wild these birds will stack up like a totem pole to allow the one on top to have a better view – which makes it easier to find prey.
Outstanding composition!
Like the use of lines in this image – both the straight lines formed by the piers, and the curved lines of the cloud and the ferrous wheel – also like the ship in the distance. Really nice tonal range. The water mark has someone else’s name – or is that your new photo id?
I would of liked being at this spot! – water looks nice and white, without any blown out spots – great job on the exposure! You may want to try a few extreme crops into the water fall, I think you may have some nice pictures within the picture.
personally I think you may want to see if you can pull out more of the details in the shadows, also if the light house was running – getting a shot with it’s light showing would be a nice addition – good for you for getting out and going for it!
Color is striking!
Gets our attention. We need to look to see what is going on. Sharp and clear.
There is a rhythm to the repeating pattern of those beautifully shaped petals. Hard to find a flower so well formed I think.
The spiral is compelling but, also those rectangles of windows leading to the center of the circle at the top add so much for me. I love them.
I can feel the cold in this scene – wondering what it was you wanted to show with this shot? Did you try a range of shutter speeds to see how it affected the way the water looked? If not you may want to give it a try sometime. I am really glad to see someone using this new feature, hopefully with time others will also join in.
I like seeing more details in the shadows in this one – of course it depends on your intention. I also appreciate the golden light coming between the rocks, it makes me wonder what is back there. Glad to see you using the discussion feature.
Sharp. Eye and beak look like a deadly combination.
I love this photo. I think it has that most important quality of grabbing the viewers interest.
I like the use of ‘selective focus’ so that you have to look to see the ‘prize’. I hope you continue to use this ‘discussion’ part of the website.
While the other bird is hell bent on causing trouble it is quite an arresting photo but, I actually like this one better. The background does not compete with the subject. There is something about the large eyes that make him seem “sweet.”
Wonderful sharpness. Spectacular photo.
Thanks Blanche – it helps when you have multiple chances!
Blanche I appreciate your comment – and I see what you are saying, this one is more artistic, while the other one captures the intensity of a raptor on the hunt
To my eye – this is a little to o busy – the fellow riding the horse, and the church distract me from the Mermaid – you may want to try to mask out everything but the Mermaid and insert a less distracting background. (just my opinion – as with all feed back take what you find useful, ignore the rest!)
Well Blanche – it looks like we are pretty much the only ones using this new feature – oh well! WRT the image an interesting pose, nice timing on your part! Personally I think the blown highlights are distracting ( as did you as I can see you tried to tone them down ). Animal photos are challenging as you pretty much are forced to go with the moment – this type of shooting makes it hard to keep track of the background. Someone once told me the background is as important as the subject, but it is hard to remember this in the ‘heat of the moment. Keep shooting!
I really like the lines in this shot – and your timing with the wave hitting was excellent. If you don’t mind sharing – where exactly was this? It looks like a wonderful view point. Just wondering – did you try some with really slow shutter speeds? I sometimes the resulting milky water can be interesting. Please keep submitting! Are those sea lions on the rocks?
Thank you for sharing the fact that you used the Orton effect. I am guessing that you masked the bird and did not apply the effect to his eye or beak. Sharing info like this helps us all learn and improve our photos.
Great picture. I like it a lot.
I think it is great too. It looks like they are dancing and enjoying it. That little bit of reflection in the water is very interesting. Do you have any other shots that captured more of that abstract reflection?
I first noticed how well you captured the bird. It took a minute to see the dragonfly, but that really made the image great. Then I read the title. Right on!
What a fantastic picture John! I love it. The lighting is wonderful. The light that illuminates his throat and teeth just makes the picture. I also appreciate all of the texture in his skin. Since his teeth look so white and clean I am thinking that a dentist could use this photo for advertisement.
you did a great job under tough lighting conditions – and lets face it anytime you can show a predator”s teeth adds a lot of drama to a shot – wonderful capture!
wonderful light – tack sharp, not always an easy thing to do with BIF – are you using the 300mm PF lense?
while I like the ‘boka’ a small aperture creates – I think you may have limited to focus plane to where it was hard to get the eye in focus – also for birds with mostly dark tones, but with some white it is very hard to not blow out the whites – suggest you try this one again with a fstop in the f 8 range, and adjust your exposure to -.7 – 1, keep it up, you have a nack for bird shots!
better than any shot I have been able to get of these birds – you can even see the serrations on the bill – what glass where you using? and where was this?
Thanks Blanche and John.
Super sharp, and the clean background is perfect for this guy.
Maybe try a pano crop, taking off the top just below the white dots. Then, if possible, apply a gradient color change from right to left to change that grey to green/yellow (I don’t have the skill for that)
The blue feathers are great. Looks like the focus is sharp on the moss and the closest part of the body. However, the head and eye are a little soft. The background softness is great, but maybe darken the lightest area behind the birds head to the right of the tree trunk.
Excellent!
I like everything about this, even the water drops falling off its feet. The color is wonderful.
Did you try darkening the top third of the background to see if it lessened its competition with the goose, yet still held its beautiful color?
I think John makes a good point – to my eye the white blobs are a distraction to a really nice shot of a ring neck duck – love the iridescent colors on the head – great job on not blowing out the highlights – something I often do 😉
Your guess if correct! while I love AI sharpen I do find it can over do it sometimes, so I like the options of selectively masking it out.
Good suggestion John. I will try it and resubmit.
Beautiful..
Love the texture of the tree bark, and the forbidding sky, and of course Kudos for making the effort to get up there!
Sounds good. I’ll try it.
Beautiful shot rich. Good job getting out there to get the shot.
Excellent focus and great lighting. If that was cropped in, I think I may have left the foot in there, but with that said, this is an absolute clear shot of a gorgeous bird.
It was late in the day and I got that low light hitting the duck. I was really just trying out my new lens and did not intend to make a good photo so, I was not paying attention to the foot. I would have left it in too if I had been paying attention. Thanks Joe.
Lovely light. Well captured.
Beautiful
Great shot. It’s beautiful.
Great shot Rich, love the shape of the tree and the snow on the mountains.
nice pose, face nice and sharp, you may want to ‘tone down’ the rock some, the eye tends to go to the brightest spot first
very nice shot – good job on not blowing out the highlights, nice sharp eye, and good wing position, – you may want to see if you can pump-up the shadows some to show more detail in the wings, glad you are getting out!
Pretty bird. Nice
I like the wing position of this shot showing off the different colors. They are a hard duck to get a BIF shot so nice capture.
good for you! – these are a very challenging bird, is there anyway you can bring up the light in the eye, as is it looks pretty dark, thanks for sharing
I like this photo
charming
Sharp. Nice shot.
lovely
I like it.
What an outstanding photograph.
Nice colors. Boats positioned nicely. Interesting glacier.
I think it is beautiful. When I was young we called these shooting stars.
Nice job at getting in close. I always try to get too much in and end up with a very busy image that doesn’t really show off the flower. You did it well, and with a clean dark background.
Amazing! And at such a high ISO. What did you use for noise reduction and sharpening?
great depth of field. nice image.
Try two different crops to see if you like either better. 1) crop down from the top until the sliver of blue sky on the left is gone (to the top of the roof). 2) crop down from the top all the way to between the two dark windows (a square crop). I think both work depending on how you want to present the image. I ignore the aspect ratio and just look at the content.
I like the scene. The light add people in the ally really adds to the mood.
Oh, another idea for the crop that you have is to just darken the sky quite a lot. Use a color-select mask or a luminance mask.
Wow, I also think it is outstanding. Makes me want to go there.
excellent!
All your portraits here are great, especially how you managed to get very soft even light on their faces while outside on a sunny day.
What a great photo. The high dynamic range is great in my opinion.
Did you recently switch to Sony?
I like how you handled the dynamic range to hold detail in the highlights and shadows in such harsh light. It looks great.
Fantastic light! Great job.
I dropped my camera into the Deschutes a few weeks ago. It is at the Nikon Dr. now. When I decided to go to the coast my husband encouraged me to take his camera and I was reluctant because I did not “know” his camera and thought that if I couldn’t be trusted to keep my camera out of the water that I had no business taking his to the ocean. In the end, I decided to give it a try. As the days passed I became more comfortable with it and now I like both cameras. We are lucky to have such nice cameras and I think that a good camera is something for which to be grateful.
Thank you, John. The top of building crop works well. I don’t hesitate to change photo proportions to suit its appearance or use. The blue patch resulted from recent use of DxO Viewpoint to correct wide angle lens distortion caused by inability to back up far enough. The camera is water resistant, the photog is not.
I like the technique that you used to produce directional light.
Great shot Blanche. Capturing the birds being birds is done just right! Sorry to hear about your Nikon, howevers the Sony is really good too!
I love these photos and want to go to the area. Beautiful.
Complementary colors, simplicity, strong contrast. Good picture.
I like this one best. 1/3 shutter speed is my favorite for a lot of things.
Maybe this is the one that I like best. Yes, I think it is. 1/2 shutter speed is great here. Really love it.
The viewer’s eye is directed into the picture to the rock that intrigues us because it seems so “other worldly.” Very interesting. Thanks for posting so we can study it.
I don’t think that we got all of the story. Very dramatic.
That’s an awesome story and a pretty good image! Haha… An outstanding image. I would like to hear more of the story some time. And, I’ve already started to lighten my gear.
It’s the first and probably only picture I will ever see of this, and it’s great, so I really appreciate that you took it and shared it. Thanks.
wow – really like the colors, sharpness of the subject coupled with the softness of the background
Great bird portrait. Love stellar’s jays.
Thanks John and Shellie.
This is stunning. I can feel the surf and wind in my face.
I really like the contrast of the dark clouds and the lit pillars below…great juxtaposition!
I really like this image! I love all things boats and water, so the combo is a great thing. Great colour contrast.
Suggestion, if I may….is it possible to lower the highlights/glare from the left side of the boats where the sun is hitting? Not sure if it would help or is necessary, just a thought.
Wow…my kind of shot! I’d love to see this in B&W and perhaps lightening the top 1/4 of the image…?
Incredible colour and composition! Love, love, love the detail and….EVERYTHING about this :-))
I can really feel the power of the sea. Great job conveying the energy of scene. Nice grounding of the pic with the rocks showing at the bottom edge. Beautiful colouring, of sky, as well!
Very appealing picture.
Blanche, Thanks for the comment.
Very nice. Well lit and a very good background allowing the subject to stand out well.
This landscape is a block from my house!
Pay attention to the tides and wear hip waders.
Very dramatic Rich. I love the rock and water colors. Extraordinary picture.
Blanch, That’s really great. I went there last year and found it challenging to make a nice image. Your extra work really paid off.
Very creative. It looks like it’s from another planet.
Lovely bird portrait. The lighting is soft and inviting. Great image.
thank you so much for making this available!
excellent job of getting a unique shot of location that has been shot so many times from the ‘traditional point of view’ – wonderful lighting
Love this Dan, great movement and tonality. Bev
Very nice, Blanche. Congratulations, and good for you for taking a Thanksgiving trip to Yosemite. Cold?
If this were my picture, I might try….(a) darkening the brightest highlights on the El Cap (like by using a brightness/contrast adjustment on a “lights 3” luminosity mask) and (b) darkening the trees in front of El Cap and their reflection (or lightening everything else in the image) to better make them stand out as the “hero” in this picture. I count at least 5 “leading lines” going towards the trees; I might try to accentuate those lines without it looking too obvious.
WOW!
wonderful – love the lighting
Thanks John. I am reminded of an internet post by a young woman who said that the only time to take a picture of Delicate Arch in Arches National park is the late afternoon or evening because it would be back lit in the morning. It seems like she is missing an opportunity to take a photo exposed for the arch and another for the sky and then blend the two. Perhaps more than two photos would need to be blended. One thing that I am learning is that the air movement around the rushing water of a waterfall always causes the foliage in the area to move and if you take a photo at a fast shutter speed to stop the foliage action you will most likely have water movement that is too fast for your liking. I look forward to taking this photo again. I think that I understand enough to do a better job in the area of that pesky brush movement in the upper right hand corner next time. My husband listened to some u tube advice from a photographer who said to plan your shot, get your composition right, set your camera for the conditions and then take the photo. While we were in Yosemite with very limited time we were rushing from one spot to another trying to capture as much as we could before the light was too harsh. My husband said, “I say the best way to get a good shot is to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, look at the photos on the computer when you get home, see how you could have done better and then go back and do it again.” Since I love to travel I think that may not be bad advice.
This image was taken on Bend’s westside after one of the violent cloudbursts we occasionally get.
I think this looks great. The lighting is superb. That waterfall is on my bucket list and I have not made it there yet.
I like how the snow makes for a nice contrast with the colors of the Junco.
I like the way the shape of the wave mimics the hill in the background – well timed! – Did you darken the bottom and right side of the image?
Thanks John. Yes I did.
wonderful light, great colors
Thanks John
Blanche, This is really fantastic. I would suggest trying a version with the top third (the forest) darkened quite a lot, then bring back some of the brightness in the center background above the creek. Sort of like a tunnel of light. That would help the beautiful green moss that lines the creek stand out and glow more. Selectively brightening the mossy leaning branches would be cool too.
I love the color palette of this image – lovely, happy yellows and greens. Very nice use of shallow depth of field to focus attention on the finch and flower. I might have cropped a bit off the bottom and used a radial filter in lightroom to darken the edges so further focus attention on the finch and flower. I wonder if using a brush to selectively add clarity and or texture to the body of the bird might make him ‘pop’ even more. Nice shot.
That was the best lecture on photographic creativity that I have ever heard. I will try to watch it again and look into Guy’s other resources. Thank you very much.
John
Oops, I think I hit upload twice by mistake… this is the same photo. Still learning the system.
Thanks. I appreciate your suggestions. They will give me something else to try.
Really nice picture Todd. Was the flower against a black background or did you do something to turn the background black?
Very nice. Sharp everywhere it needs to be. The lighting is great.
Nice shot. I feel the same way. I always shoo them away, then think to myself “gee, I should have taken a picture”.
Nice. I really like the natural background.
The rabbit population has exploded in my back yard and they are really making a mess of my once nice lawn. They are so cute, but I wish they would just pass through.
We have also had a lot more rabbits this year. I am photographing and trying to make the best of the situation. I can’t tell you how much I liked your last photo submittal. The one of Crooked river from atop Smith rock.
The interesting story behind this shot is that this doe gave birth to one baby somewhere around the pond in our back yard. She must have lost track of the baby very early because it was seen on our neighbors patio barely able to stand. She kept coming through our yard and seemed to be looking for it. They may not have connected because he is seen alone in areas like under our tree. I took this photo one morning when she appeared to be looking for the baby.
really enjoy the lighting –
I like the colors and how the house stands out boldly from the background. There is a little sense of wonderment because the bottom of the porch is hidden. And great that you captured the flag straight out. That little detail adds a lot to the picture.
Amazing. What was the shutter speed?
Thanks John. I always appreciate your comments.
I wonder if I could have taken a shot from somewhere that exposed the lower part of the porch and home. Maybe only with a Drone.
shot at 1/2000 – but if you want the wing tips sharp you will need much faster, personally I like the blur at the tips – the key is to watch where they hover and get the shot in that moment
Wonderful photo Rich!
Great shot!
Awesome
Nicely conceived and rendered.
Check the western larch in Shevlin Park.
That’s excellent. I didn’t see any close enough this August and September.
Hayden Valley is awesome.
I might be seeing this wrong on my phone, but it looks like it could be improved if you increase the brightness.
Sorry you didn’t get any this year but I know you love going. We do too. My husband can’t hike much but he is pretty good at getting the car to places where it is likely that we may encounter these wild animals………….a long lens helps also. I got a new 150 -600mm Sigma this year. It has that 600mm reach and can be adjusted down to fill the frame if the animal is closer so cropping isn’t necessary as much. This elk and others were just beside the road between Mammath and the La mar valley. Sheer luck.
A great elk picture – about as good as it gets.
Good colors and reflection. Yellowstone abounds with picture opportunities. It is hard to get one that can convey the sense of the special awesomeness of the place. Good job.
Skill, patience, patience, patience, and luck. Amazing.
Yes, it is too dark here. On my 4k monitor it is much brighter. I must complain to the webmonkey.
Thanks to both Larry and John. Knowing that you both have been there and experienced this makes me feel like I am in good company.
Really nice, Blanche. Beautiful capture of a beautiful animal.
Very nice
Very nice
Hmmm. Awkward to highlight Navajo and not a local tribe.
That’s very cool, but isn’t it 200 miles away?
Excellent
Cool!
Very nice
SORRY, not sure how I uploaded the two duplicates! – Steve
SORRY, not sure how I uploaded the two duplicates! – Steve
Wonderful!
Beautiful
cute
What a great set of images, along with wonderful commentary by Rob! So wish I could have made it to the meeting to enjoy these in person, and have a little respite from the snow and cold outside. A big “well done!” to all who submitted photos to this theme night!
You have such a great eye. This is fabulous
I love the way the straight lines complement the curves of the statue.
Another great angle and totally different image.
This is a really fun shot.
This is great! I love the juxtaposition of the precise horizontal and vertical lines between blocks and the organic shapes of the vine and, especially, its shadow. Good for you, Todd, in seeing this within the confines of the exercise.
Looks like a family.
Todd, you have such a good eye. I like that you took this shot from directly overhead. That makes it a bit more abstract and strictly about the interesting shapes. The black and white treatment enhances this.
This was a result of ‘working the subject.’ I wanted the moon next to the head in some way, and I took a number of shots with the moon below the chin and then right in front of the eyes. (Both were boring.) Eventually, I realized that there was a parking space for the moon right behind the neck. (I confess that I cheated on our exercise because my desire to get this right made me ignore my timer. Sorry.)
This is a great composition. I love the play between the shadows and the metal.
All the textures / colors in the post really make this image. I love the colors too.