crocodile monitorby
ArpeggioAngelComment: Zoo shots are tough for me. Dealing with the glass and the lighting is the primary issue, of course. It can just really mess with the composition, you know? In this one, you've got a great capture of the monitor's expression (croc-mon's do have great expressions, don't they?). If I were a photoshop genius (which I am so not), I'd want to hit that golden bar of light at the bottom left. That's the one thing that distracts a bit here. But, that comes with shooting through glass and in artifiial environments beyond your control.
Here's my question for you ~ I've received comments elsewhere about issues like this along the lines of "just photo manipulate" ~ alter the whole image, rework it until it looks great. But I tend to feel like it's cheating a bit. Adjusting the contrast or brightness feels okay, as that could also be tweaked in simple printing ~ it's across the board. But filtering out certain elements of a photograph... Well, it just doesn't feel "right". Maybe it's because I suck at it? LOL ~ Anyhow, do you find yourself in that tension? You could edit out that golden bar, but then that little element of light (which was present) wouldn't be there. And a little distraction/chaos serves the reality a little more. It's almost like "perfect" photos are too unnatural to me.
Anyhow, for what it's worth, I dig this shot. I like the subtle grain and, of course, the subject. Crocodile monitors are fun to shoot (with cameras, not guns...!)
~ bacchus
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