Greetings from the Critique Club. The following comments are in response to your request for a critique on your challenge submission. Please feel free to send me a PM concerning my comments.
First impression, this image was taken at the right moment. The raised wings of the male and the way his eye meets the gaze of the camera convey the concept of warning an intruder. It makes me feel like I'm right there confronting this scene.
I'm drawn to the detail in the feathers on the male and the curve of his extended neck. I like the contrast between his alarmed pose and the more complacent mood of the female he protects. I like that the curves of their necks echo each other creating a rhythmn within the image.
I do find that the composition feels a little cramped. At first, I felt the post on the left really didn't belong since it somewhat stops the progress of the geese. Had the male somewhat overlapped the post it wouldn't feel like such a barrier. But, upon reflection, I find it helps to keep me in the frame sending me back to the subjects. However, the nearness of the one goose to the top of the frame of the image does cramp the view (in my opinion). I'd like to see just a bit more room at the top--either by stepping back a bit from the subject (or zooming out), composing the shot vertically, or choosing a lower angle of view. I think bringing the camera view back a little would also allow the inclusion of the female's tail which seems awkwardly chopped off by the image frame.
The lighting is clearly mid-day, a situation that causes harsh shadowing. In this case it doesn't seem to hurt the image very much but it does make it hard to retain detail in the white feathers of the female. Blowing out the highlights there causes a minor distraction.
The color in this image feels a little oversaturated. The cyan in the water creates a cold, icy feeling. At the same time the bill of the female seems unrealistically red. It appears that hue/saturation might have been increased on all colors at the same time, choosing individual color channels would provide more control to these two areas allowing you to bring up the lovely red-browns in the image while holding back the cyan in the water a bit.
Love, the subject of this challenge, certainly can involve protection. But I'd also like to see a stronger connection between the "lovers"... There is a start to connection in their similarity of poses and their proximity to each other. To me, however, love is something of a human concept. In order to relate this concept to animals, to get the viewer to anthropomorphize, it seems there needs to be something more human-like in their relation to each other....I'm not sure exactly what that would be. Perhaps more similarities, more proximity...or something else conveyed in a harmony of color or texture that would emphasize their relationship and help me empathize with their bond.
Overall, I think this is a technically good image taken at an interesting moment.
Keep shooting!
--Kadi
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