DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
THE BIRDS!
THE BIRDS!
melismatica


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Wildlife II (Advanced Editing IV*)
Camera: Minolta DiMAGE F200
Location: Seekonk, Massachusetts
Date: Jan 20, 2006
Aperture: 8.0
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/10
Date Uploaded: Jan 22, 2006

 There were what must have been thousands of small birds perched on the phone lines near Runnins River in Seekonk, Mass. They looked like ants and every few minutes a bunch of them would take flight and circle the sky in an eerie swarm. Usually we see this type of thing in the fall. There was very little light left in the sky and by the time I had set up my tripod (and replaced hte dead batteries in my camera---urgh!) they had moved off a bit. As they swarmed you could hear their droppings hitting the ground like rain (something that didn't occur to me when I decided to park my car and get a few shots). Miraculously neither my daughter or I were hit.
This isn't the best shot, I realize, but it does show a bit of the eerieness of the swarming birds. I set my aperature to the smallest setting on my camera (unfortunately this is 8.0) for as close to an infinity shot as possible. Of course this caused the blur which I think is kind of interesting, actually. I know this will probably get slammed in the voting because of the technical stuff and the weird composition but I figured I'd share it anyway. It's actually a coincidence that I took this during the Wildlife challenge since I had no intention of entering that.
I actually kind of like the glow of the gas station in the corner as it sort of places the birds in more of a human setting.
I used a tripod as best I could considering the swarm of birds kept moving. I bracketed using an EV of -0.7. I adjusted levels, contrast, and color balance which is about all I can do with my Minolta software. No cropping was done.

Statistics
Place: 230 out of 261
Avg (all users): 4.5138
Avg (commenters): 4.5667
Avg (participants): 4.3178
Avg (non-participants): 4.6101
Views since voting: 790
Views during voting: 430
Votes: 325
Comments: 33
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 02/25/2006 10:38:05 AM
Originally posted by keegbow:
This is great image highly underated. Reminds me of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year.

Your in good company !


Thanks for sharing that...After reading the photographer's description of how he got the shot (two-fisted photography--jeesh!) I feel better about how my turned out. I wasn't planning on taking any photos. I actually pulled over in my car to get the shot. It was really difficult because the move so bloody fast and the camera I have is practically a toy compared to what a lot of folks use on this site these days.

My daughter and I had to dodge a rain of birdshit too. That was something I didn't consider when I got out of the car. Miraculously, we were unharmed.
 02/02/2006 02:28:54 PM
This is great image highly underated. Reminds me of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year.

Your in good company !
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/31/2006 09:14:16 PM
Not sure what the "square" in the corner of the photo is, other than somewhat distracting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/31/2006 05:33:54 PM
great photo, love the colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/31/2006 02:41:51 PM
The colors in the bottom right corner take attention away from the rest of the picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/31/2006 02:11:24 PM
It'd be a good image if you cropped out the building and bottom half of the trees. The birds are your focal point, but the bottom third is wasted.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2006 07:15:59 PM
I predict you'll be underscored for this picture. You've managed to capture an incredible swarm of birds and give a sense of their movement. 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2006 11:38:05 AM
IMHO this picture would be even more powerful without the colored thingy in the lower right corner (what is that thing?). Other than that I think you did a great job of capturing and the moment and showing the awesome action.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2006 08:46:07 AM
Nice concept. It would be stronger without the distractions of the orange and green thing in the corner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2006 05:39:13 AM
Too bad of the lower right corner, kind of ruins this otherwise good picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/29/2006 11:51:14 PM
A rich and lovely abstraction, witht the burst of color in the bottom left providing a textural anchor to the cool blur of motion. This is one of my top three, just a lovely peice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2006 09:02:09 AM
Neat effect - would like it better if the bottom were cropped to get rid of the building/sign lights.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2006 12:18:04 AM
The building on the right is a real distraction.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/27/2006 08:03:59 PM
Bottom right ia a distraction for me. Good shot though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/27/2006 03:18:40 PM
It's raining birds aleluya it's raining birds!!! Nice shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2006 10:04:12 PM
I like the action of the birds and the trees silhouetted against the evening sky, but I would have cropped the lower 1/4 of the image to remove the lighted, err, thingy in the corner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2006 01:56:51 PM
Object in lower right corner very distracting. Difficult to determine birds in photo. 4
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2006 12:28:23 PM
Good idea. The building (?) in the lower right is a distraction.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2006 07:22:54 AM
Such a shame you have the illuminated area bottom right, particularly as this was an advanced editing challenge and you had a chance to remove it. The concept of your picture was great - the flocks of birds are quite spectactular.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 11:40:34 PM
I love this, but the red and green light in the bottom right corner really distracts me from the image.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 10:38:20 PM
The image in the lower right is distracting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 10:16:51 PM
Interesting shot. Whats going on with the red and green thing?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 08:35:14 PM
I really like the idea, but the UDO (unidentified distracting object) in the corner really takes away from it. I'm not normally one to complain much about noise (I'd rather see a little noise than have something neat imaged to death), but the noise in the sky is quite noticeable even from a distance.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 03:46:32 PM
The orange/green blob at the bottom is a real distraction. Too bad you didn't crop it out of the photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 03:41:55 PM
Nice attempt; slow shutter speed enhances effect, but distracting right corner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 11:21:03 AM
I like the concept, I just think this would have worked better with a crop to eliminate the red and green
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 10:38:38 AM
the right hand corner has me puzzled.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 08:12:27 AM
It's a shame about that red sign or light, whatever it is, in the bottom. The birds and the trees make a cool shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 06:43:15 AM
Seems blurry and the building in the bottom corner is distracting
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 04:46:47 AM
you will probably get this all through the challenge...that thing on the right...aaargh! This looks like the shot that came second in the UK wildlife photographer of the year...I would have cropped it out
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 03:31:14 AM
looks like bats
 01/25/2006 03:02:28 AM
It would have looked better if you cropped out the object in the bottom right corner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2006 01:04:59 AM
great movement and very dramatic
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/15/2025 05:35:17 AM EDT.